Headphones, Scripts, Record!
by Enya Talisman
Summary: Hanayo is a new VA hired by the studio (which is really sketchy) that produces her most favourite anime. In her new career she meets interesting new people, her best friend and her (super hot) new partner that'll be working with her on voicing her very first anime! How will things turn out for Hanayo? AU
1. Chapter 1

Rin: Hey guys! Rin's here along with Maki-chan and Kayo-chin nya!

Hanayo: R-Rin-chan, maybe we could tone it down a little?

Maki: This is tiring. Must we have an opening like this every single story?

Rin: But Rin likes it nya...

Hanayo: U-Um, maybe we could try and find a solution? By the way, Enya doesn't have experience in this field so please imagine it as a world where anything can happen no matter how impossible it is!

Maki: Too much effort actually. Oh well, Enya doesn't own anything.

XXXXXX

"I-I have a bad feeling about this..." A brown-haired woman with purple framed glasses muttered to herself, looking at the directions given to her new workplace once again. _'Guess not...'_

"Ah Kayo-chin! Over here nya!" A orange-haired woman waved vigorously, a smile on her face. Kayo-chin, real name Hanayo Koizumi, was a new voice actress that was scouted by chance. Now that she was officially one, her first task was to meet up with her employer. Thankfully for her, her best friend worked there too.

"Ah Rin-chan!" Hanayo ran up to Rin, panting slightly as she stopped to catch her breath. "I-I'm not late right?"

"Nyope. Nozoboss is waiting to meet you nya~" Rin giggled as she tugged on Hanayo's sleeve. "C'mon! Follow me nya!"

"W-Wait! Slow do- Ah!" Hanayo was then dragged into the building, which was surprisingly empty as compared to what Hanayo had expected. "Someone save meeeeee!"

"Rin! What the hell are you doing to that poor girl?!" A blond woman with cerulean eyes asked, an irritated look on her face.

"Ah Eli-chan! Well, Rin's here to bring Kayo-chin to Nozoboss nya!" Rin gave a thumbs up, beaming as she tried to move past the woman.

"Uh huh. Don't you have a recording to do?" Rin gulped, sweating buckets as the woman glared at her.

"Weeeeeell... Rin thought that she could take a break and-"

"Cut the nonsense and get back to work. I'll personally bring her to Nozomi myself." The woman snapped, grabbing Hanayo away from Rin's grasp.

"E-Eeeeh?! I uh-" Hanayo whimpered, scared of the woman.

"My name is Eli Ayase, pretty much the one who's bossing you guys around. Let's go." Eli simply said, leading Hanayo to a door. Once they entered the door, Hanayo was face to face with a byzantium haired woman with a warm smile on her face.

"Heya! I'm Nozomi Tojo, I'll be the one managing the admin stuff while Elichi behind you is the one managing you guys." Nozomi informed Hanayo, trying her best to ease the tense atmosphere.

"O-Okay..." Hanayo muttered, cowering at the spot where she stood.

"Elichi, what did you do to the poor girl?" Nozomi questioned, an accusing look on Nozomi's face.

"N-Nothing! The only thing I did was to ask Rin to go back and record her lines!" Eli defended, sighing as she took a glimpse of Hanayo. "So uh..."

"H-Hanayo Koizumi! P-Please don't yell at me! I promise not to talk to Rin-chan during the recording sessions!" Hanayo begged, going as far as to bow towards Eli.

"What? Oh I think I get it..." Nozomi sighed as she turned to face Eli. "Elichi, how many times have I told you to not scare the lights out of them?"

"Well this time I didn't!"

"Apparently you did Elichi!"

"No I did not!"

"You did!"

"I said I didn't!

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Say yes!"

"I know you two love Storm In Lover but really, you just caused our new VA to faint." A woman with navy blue hair informed the bickering duo.

"W-What?! Oh for the love of harasho..." Eli murmured as she faced the newcomer. "Umi, bring her to the resting room will you? I have to settle matters with Kotori and Nico."

"Sure. Oh wow, the newcomer's heavy." Umi grunted under Hanayo's weightas she dragged herself to the resting room.

"By the way Elichi..." Nozomi started, grabbing Eli's attention.

"What is it Nozomi?"

"Accept all my passion turning to-"

"My heart will surely _not_ give you an answer."

XXXXXX

"Where am I...?" Hanayo groggily got up and surveyed her surroundings. She wasn't at Nozomi's office anymore and was sitting up on a clean white bed that reminded her of a school's sick bay.

"You're in the resting room." Umi replied, startling Hanayo. "I'm Umi Sonoda, scriptwriter for the anime produced by Muse Studios."

"B-By anime you mean like Love's Signal Rin Rin Rin, Unknown Heartbeat and the recent anime-"

"Storm In Lover? Yes that is correct, I'm Muse Studios' _only_ scriptwriter to be more precise. Nozomi didn't want to spend money on more writers, saying something about having one talented scriptwriter than having hundreds of talentless ones."

"I-I'm a big fan of Storm In Lover! Or more specifically, all anime by Muse Studios! The script is really smooth, the graphics are really specific and accurate, even the VAs have perfect knowledge of the characters as though they were the characters themselves!" Hanayo went on, spending 20 minutes talking all about animations.

"Haha. Koizumi-san right? I'm sure you'll make a fantastic VA. I'll let you in on something, the main VAs for Storm In Lover actually are Eli and myself." Umi smiled, putting a finger up to her lips. "Count it as a secret within members of this studio okay?"

"You and A-Ayase-san...?! O-Oh my riceballs..." Hanayo looked like she was on the verge of squealing, worrying Umi as she didn't particularly like too much enthusiasm in the atmosphere.

"Umi-chan! Eli-chan just told me that we're gonna do a new anime! Oh who's this?" A woman with ash grey hair asked, her head tilting to one side as she stared at Hanayo.

"H-Hanayo Koizumi! I-I'm new here!" Hanayo stuttered, blushing out of embarrassment. To her surprise, the woman hugged her tightly.

"Kayo-chan you're sooooo cute! Kotori Minami, lead graphic artist for all the animes! But I prefer the term designer!"

"D-Designer...?"

"That's right! You know the animations right? We draw them out but I personally feel that it's like designing a character! Or designing what kind of scenery the story's gonna set in! Which is why I prefer the term designer!"

"Shit! Umi did you hear?! We have to come up with some shit fast!" A petite woman with raven hair styled into two pigtails shouted, pointing at Hanayo. "And who the hell is this chick?!"

"N-Nico Yazawa... I-I can't believe the child VA prodigy is working in the same studio I'm in..." Hanayo gaped, her lavender eyes widening with shock that her idol was literaaly in front of her.

"... Y'know, I asked for your name, not mine. But hey, I'm surprised you heard of me." Nico shrugged, folding her arms. "So miss, what's your name?"

"H-Hanayo Koizumi! My first anime was I've Become A Magician and since then, I've been a fan of animes!" Hanayo burst out, surprising Nico.

"S-So my debut anime was your first huh? It wasn't easy drawing all of them out while voicing Sora-chan y'know...?" Nico scratched her head, her face red with embarrassment.

"You drew the animations out too? Why haven't we heard of this?" Umi asked, mildly surprised by Nico's claim. "Anyways, did Eli say anything about the genre?"

"Make it an anime that's bordering on the mature side."

"T-That's shameless! O-Oh my god, why did she even suggest such an animation?"

"Breaking news nyaaaa! Nozoboss said that Kayo-chin and Maki-chan are gonna be the main VAs! Oh hi Kayo-chin!" Rin waved at a blanked out Hanayo. "Aw nuts, Rin thinks that Kayo-chin fainted nya..."

 _'Somebody... save meeeeeee!'_

XXXXXX

"Uuuu... Why did they want me to find my way to the recording room myself...?" Hanayo sobbed, trudging her way through the corridors.

"Psst, go left at the next section!" A voice whispered out, scaring Hanayo. She turned around but saw no one, creeping her out even more.

"H-Hello? A-Anyone there?" Hanayo called out, but was met with no response. Shakily, Hanayo made a left and was met with five rooms. "E-Eeeeep...!"

"Charge in straight! Don't worry about which one!" The same voice was heard, making Hanayo panic even more. Nevertheless, Hanayo still complied with the voice, though with some caution of course.

"C-Charge...? O-Okay then..." Taking in a deep breath, Hanayo ran straight into the room that was directly in front of her, not aware that someone just happened to exit the particular room. It was too late for Hanayo to stop in time, a crash sound soon echoed throughout the walls. "O-Oh my riceballs! I-I'm terribly sorry!"

"Watch where you're going." The person Hanayo accidentally knocked over scowled, her cold amethyst eyes glaring at Hanayo's lavender ones. The latter's heart throbbed faster as she stared at the woman in front of her.

 _'S-She's so pretty... Her eyes are like a shining amethyst gem, her wavy scarlet tresses ending at her shoulder blades...'_

"Hey! Get off me will you?!" The woman glared at Hanayo, scaring the latter to get up.

"S-Sorry! U-Um I'm looking for the recording room but I m-may be lost?" Hanayo stammered, her current state akin to a deer caught in a headlight.

"This is the place you're looking for then." The woman's expression softened at Hanayo's timid gaze. "Hey uh, I'm sorry. For... yelling at you. And for glaring at you. I-It's just my usual face so please don't take it to heart."

"O-Okay..." Hanayo muttered, cowering at the woman's (unintentional) intimidating look towards her. _'S-She's also pretty scary... but I think she's a nice person at heart...'_

"Ah Maki-chan~ Sorry sorry! Umi-chan told me to lead the newbie but I kinda wanted to scare her so..." A ginger-haired woman popped out from one of the other four rooms, an apologetic smile on her face. "Kayo-chan right? Yeeeeah sorry for that ghostly voice thingy~!"

"You could have traumatised her Honoka." Maki retorted, placing a hand on Hanayo's shoulder. "It's okay. I won't scare you. Shall we go inside?"

"Mm." Was all Hanayo could say after being scared by Honoka. Maki then led Hanayo into the recording studio, leaving Honoka alone by herself until Eli arrived.

"Haa. Honoka, what did I tell you about scaring others?" Eli sighed, facepalming as she lectured Honoka.

"I just wanted to lighten the mood, that's all ya know~" Honoka chuckled sheepishly, dismissing the lecture.

"That's Hanayo Koizumi, Rin's best friend. She'll be your worst enemy if she finds out about this." Eli groaned, beckoning Honoka to enter the room with her. "Hey Maki, how's it going?"

"Oh, Eli. Mm, it's fine. I've just taught the newcomer how to operate the microphone during recording sessions. I'll go through with her fully later." Maki responded, giving Hanayo's shoulder a gentle squeeze, most likely to calm Hanayo down.

"Ehehe~ So Kayo-chan, I'm Honoka Kosaka! That lady beside ya is Maki Nishikino and this!" Honoka pointed to Eli for dramatic effect. "This is an Eli Ayase!"

"I'm not some animal Honoka. Neither am I on display."

"You're from Russia, AKA foreign talent." Maki shrugged, ushering Hanayo out of the room.

"H-Hey! I have Japanese blood flowing through my veins!" Eli countered, her face slightly paler than usual.

"Russian passport equals Russian nationality." Maki hummed, turning her attention to Hanayo. "Let's have lunch first."

"E-Eh? O-Okay..." Hanayo agreed, allowing herself to be escorted by Maki.

"Hey Maki! Stop right there!"

"Maki-chan~ I wanna join you two for lunch too! It's bread time!"

"Just don't scare the heck outta anyone again Honoka..."

"Are you guys ignoring me for real?!"

XXXXXX

"Hmph." Eli pouted, scarfing down her chocolate bars as Umi watched in silence.

"Now now Eli, Maki was just kidding. You know that her words are pretty awkward most of the time." Umi replied, offering one of her chocolate bars to Eli, who immediately accepted.

"That's right Elichi~ I grope you all almost every day and yet not a single police report was filed!" Nozomi beamed, holding up a thumbs up sign to boost Eli's mood. What she didn't know was that Maki nearly made one but was successfully convinced not to by Eli. Not that either Eli or Umi will mention that to Nozomi.

"Hmph... When will you start writing Umi?" Eli asked, biting off a piece of chocolate from the bar.

"I-I don't know! It's so embarrassing..." Umi flushed a bright red, steam pouring out from her ears.

"Hey if you wanna talk about embarrassing, you try scripting Garden Of Glass. It was damn gay, I actually vomited at my own script." Nico interrupted, a wave of nausea overcoming her.

"Y-You scripted the legendary gayest anime of the century?!" Hanayo asked in disbelief, stunned at Nico's talent in many areas.

"Yeah, those two wanted me to try as they felt that Umi was overworked. Urgh... I'm _never_ gonna write again..." Nico shiver, memories of her two bosses' sickeningly sweet voices at one intimate scene of the anime.

 _"Hey Nan-chan? I love you so much..."_

 _"Me too Kussun... I can't be away from you even for a second..."_

"Gyaaaaaaaaah! I'm only remembering two lines and it's making me sick!" Nico screamed, banging her head on a table repeatedly.

"Then I'll assume that you won't want your lunch then..." Maki responded as she tried to steal Nico's lunch, to which the latter stopped Maki before Maki could eat Nico's pasta.

"No Maki-chan. I still want that."

"But there's tomatoes... You never give me tomatoes even when you knew that I like them..."

"H-Here!" Hanayo had heard Maki's words and decided to offer her tomatoes to Maki. "You can have them, you must really like them don't you?"

"O-Oh... T-Thanks." Maki took Hanayo's tomatoes, a blush on her face as she consumed the fruit.

"Anyways Maki-chan! You and Kayo-chin will be the main characters nya! How nice, Rin envies you two~" Rin beamed, swiping of her best friend's riceball and replacing it with a cup of pudding.

"You're still recording for an anime right Rin? What's there to envy about?" Maki asked, looking at Hanayo. "Did you watch Love's Signal Rin Rin Rin?"

"Of course! It's about a girl who suddenly finds symptoms of loving her best friend! The ending was so touching, I cried a little!" Hanayo replied, wiping of a small tear from her eyes.

"A little nya? You were crying lots and lots!" Rin laughed, clapping a hand on Hanayo's shoulder!

"Y-You were crying a lot when you watched the anime too!"

"Nyahaha~ Did Rin cry nya~?"

"Hey Kayo-chan!" Kotori started, grabbing Hanayo's attention. "Did you also watch Soldier Game?"

"I did! The first episode was like foretelling the ending which was really fitting! The three women trying to seduce each other was really great, especially Akaki's! I was so happy when Aoi and Kiri loved her back! Akaki is my favourite character to be honest."

"That's rare, more fans support Kiri. They love the part where Kiri went on a destructive path to remove Akaki from existence!"

"... I'm glad Eli isn't trying to remove my existence in real life..." Maki grimaced, shooting a wary look at Eli, who was still moody.

"Hey what about me! There are some anime which I'm in it too y'know!" Honoka asked, unhappy that she wasn't even mentioned once.

"Like Mermaid Festa Volume 2 ~Passionate~?"

"Kayo-chan, you're just listing the anime with Rin-chan in it right...? I'm not some washed up VA okay! Waaaaaaah!" Honoka burst into tears, worrying Hanayo and Kotori.

"Ahhh! D-Don't cry okay? You did Someday Of My Life right?"

"Awwww... Now I'm gonna cry too..." Nozomi sighed, making Nico irritated.

"What now?! You're one of the two gayest VAs in anime history, what more could you ask?!"

"Yume-chan didn't get her happy ending in Pure Love Lens..."

"Blame Umi for that then."

"H-Hey Nico?!"

XXXXXX

"Okay now that all that shit's behind us, we'll do a test recording of a script that one of us done before..." Maki said, holding up two pieces of paper. "Do you still remember how to operate the microphones?"

"Y-Yeah! W-Which are my lines?" Hanayo asked, glancing through the script. _'W-Wait... 'So you've done it at last, you've fallen in love... with me'?! I-Isn't this Beat In Angel?!'_

"Hmm... There's words in red and orange right? Could you take the red ones? I'll take the orange words. Start from the top until the end of this page okay Hanayo?"

"O-Okay!" Hanayo said, readying herself as Maki started first.

 _"I think I'm seriously sick... Aw man, and I'm looking forward to see Tsuki-chan too..."_ Maki read out, in the weakest voice she could muster. Truth be told, she wasn't used to doing characters that were frail or energetic. Well it's a new thing for me to learn, was what Maki thought as her eyes panned over to Hanayo.

 _"H-Hey Yakimo? Ya inside right? Open up before I... I kick the door down! Y-Yeah that's right, kick it down!"_ Hanayo panicked mentally, she was afraid that the voice she used was too harsh for the character.

 _"Munya? Tsuki-chan's here... to visit me? How nice~"_ Maki continued, focusing on her script. _"T-Tsuki-chan?! Why are you raising you leg?!"_

 _"Heh? Oh right, I think I was gonna kick this thing down or somethin' like that..."_

 _"K-Kick?! Hey Tsuki-chan! Don't go around kicking *Hack hack*"_ Maki did her best to fake a cough, which was easy for a veteran voice actress like her.

 _"Ya know what, just lemme come in an' I'll nurse ya. Or somethin'."_

 _"B-But I don't want you to catch my cold! What if you got sick the next day?"_

 _"Look, ya the student council prez right? So which is more important, the most well known figure in the student body or the most badass delinquent in school?"_

 _"U-Um... I guess both-"_

 _"Just shut the hell up an' let me in already."_

"Wow Hanayo, you really got into Tsuki's character well. No wonder Nozomi hired you." Maki smiled, patting Hanayo's head. "I'll be looking forward to record with you Hanayo."

"R-Really?" Hanayo asked in disbelief, she wasn't confident of her abilities and felt that she had done badly for her first recording. "I didn't think that I've gotten into Tsuki's role... She's supposed to be more harsh, more rebellious, like a delinquent..."

"You know, that was my role. It was my first debut and it went pretty badly..."

"N-No it didn't! Although you could be more apathetic at the first three episodes, you were awesome when you stopped Yakimo from going overseas! I-It was really touching a-and waaaaaaah!" Hanayo started to cry, alerting a nearby Umi.

"Hanayo?! Maki, what happened?!" Umi asked, panicking over Hanayo's outburst.

"I think she cried caused the ending you wrote was touching or I really became Tsuki..."

"Oh don't relieve that three months again..."

XXXXXX

Maki: Are you trying to tell me I acted just like an anime character for three months straight?!

Rin: You did nya~ It got so bad until Nozoboss had to send you for a vacation to Australia nya!

Hanayo: Eeeeeeeeh?!

Maki: In case you idiots don't know-

Rin: Don't call the readers idiots nya!

Maki: Unknown Heartbeat is actually just Hata na Heartbeat. Enya here doesn't know what the question mark in the English name stands for so she just calls it unknown.

Hanayo: See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Eli: Now it's our turn to host the A/N huh?

Nico: Before you do any shit with Nozomi, I'm warning you guys that I do _not_ wish to be a part of your gay nonsense.

Nozomi: Aww but Nicocchi, we're just spreading the love to you~

Nico: Nope, nope, no need any love.

Eli: You sure we're not leaving you out?

Nico: Yes, now can we stop goofing around?! Geez!

Nozomi: 'Kay! Enya-chan doesn't own anything yan~

XXXXXX

"Oh Hanayo-chan! Perfect timing, I was lookin' for ya!" Nozomi beamed, running towards Hanayo. Hanayo blinked in confusion, before managing to dodge her employer's tackle. "Sheesh, no need to dodge!"

"S-Sorry!" Hanayo bowed, clearly panicking. Nozomi chuckled, patting Hanayo's head gently in an attempt to reassure her.

"Don't worry 'bout that~ Anyways, so you know last week you met most of us right yan?"

"M-Most?! I-I though that was all?!"

"Yeah that's the thing! Y'see, three of the remaining staff weren't here last week and so they'll be coming in starting from today! So don't get too alarmed if y'see strangers prancing about in this studio! After all, an ID card is needed for anyone to get in!"

"P-Prancing...?" Hanayo gulped, she wasn't too sure if Nozomi was just exaggerating or telling the truth but either way, she wasn't too eager to face any of the remaining three members.

"Hm? Did ya say something?" Nozomi cocked her head to one side, a teasing smile on her face. "Speakin' of which, where's your ID?"

"Heh? M-My ID card?"

"Yeah, I mean don't ya feel kinda cold standing outside on a winter morning?" Hanayo nodded slightly, she _did_ feel cold but what could she do if she wasn't able to enter the studio? For the past week, she managed to enter as she constantly met up with Rin. However Rin told her that she was going to be really late, and advised her to make a move first.

"W-Well uh... I-It's a funny story actually..." Hanayo hesitated, would Nozomi scold her for not having the card? Thankfully, Nozomi was a smart cookie. Upon seeing the look on Hanayo's face, she immediately knew why the poor newcomer was outside of the warm studio.

"You don't have one do ya?"

"... No... A-Ah but I didn't lose it! I-I must have forgotten Ayase-san's message that I should get mine from someone!"

"Elichi's not in charge of this though. And technically, I asked Honoka-chan to help ya get your ID card. Oh well, we can find her later. Let's get into the studio first, I'm freezing!" Nozomi chuckled as she pressed her ID card onto a scanner, waiting for the door to open. "Huh? Maybe it didn't read my card..."

"U-Um Tojo-san?" Hanayo squeaked, after watching her employer scan her card nine times in a row, all failing miserably. "M-Maybe the scanner is faulty?"

"Nah, it was updated yesterday..." Nozomi sighed as she flipped her card to the other side, paling as soon as it was flipped. "Oh no."

"W-What is it?!"

"I forgot to renew my card." The duo stood there in an awkward silence, both at a loss of words.

Thankfully for them, Nico soon arrived with a still usable ID card that allowed the duo to enter the studio before they actually froze to death.

XXXXXX

"Ahaha thank god Nicocchi, I didn't want to become an ice sculpture." Nozomi grinned gratefully, brushing off some snow off her jacket.

"With those boobs, I expect you to have enough fat to survive for a year." Nico sarcastically replied, glaring at Nozomi.

"T-Thank you for saving us Yazawa-san!" Hanayo bowed, grateful that Nico saved her from a frosty death.

"No prob, you should get an ID while you can still remember. I remember that one time when Honoka forgotten to do Umi's. Heh, that was a freaking riot." Nico chuckled sadistically, dismissing Hanayo's worried look with a wave of her hand.

"Hm, but Honoka-chan isn't here yet... And I'm supposed to be doing stuff today..."

"... Does that mean you _don't_ do work most of the time...?" Nico arched an eyebrow, folding her arms upon seeing her employer's sheepish grin. "You really should give us a raise if that's the case."

"No way. Oh wait! An-chan's free right now! Heeeeeey! An-chan! Over here!" Nozomi waved to an auburn-haired woman, who was walking out from the graphic artist office.

"Nozomi-san? What is it?" The woman walked over to the trio, her violet eyes brimming with kindness (as far as Hanayo observed). "Oh, who's the newcomer?"

"Technically she's already here for a week. Anyways, introduce yourself to Anju." Nico nudged Hanayo, who was starting to cower under the woman's (curious) gaze.

"H-H-Hanayo Koizumi! P-Please treat me well!" Hanayo bowed lower as compared to the first two times, though that's because she didn't know the position the woman in front of her held.

"Anju Yuki, graphic artist for Muse Studios. Or I guess you can call me a designer since Kotori-san prefers that term..." Anju grinned, patting Hanayo on the head. "I specialise in animating by the way, Nico-san and Kotori-san are the ones doing the most interesting work."

"And the hardest too." Nico scowled, she didn't like it when people think that sketching out human anatomy was easy. It was even worse when sketching them on a drawing tablet.

"A-Aren't you from A-RISE Animations? W-Why are you here now?!" Hanayo gasped, A-RISE Animations was considered one of the very best in the anime industry. More often than not, rival companies would go over to A-RISE Animations, not the other way around.

"That's because she's a spy and we forced her to join us permanently!" Nozomi declared, pointing an accusing finger at Anju.

"NO! Nozomi-san, don't lie to Hanayo-san! I joined Muse Studios as my former company... well let's just say my ex-boss was in debt and kinda used our earnings to pay off his whopping debt." Anju explained, shooting Nozomi a glare.

"O-Oh... I thought-"

"Hanayo, never trust Nozomi when it comes to intros. She'll mess it up big time." Nico sighed, heading towards her office which she shared with Kotori and Anju. "See ya around."

"Ah before I forget, An-chan? You mind helping Hanayo-chan with her ID? Oh and renew mine while you're at it! Thanks!" Nozomi tossed her expired ID card to Anju before skipping towards her office.

"Well, shall we go then?" Anju asked, receiving a hasty nod in response. "Okay then, let's go!"

XXXXXX

"Okay, here you go. Don't lose it, if not you'll be stuck outside like how I did last year..." Anju said, handing Hanayo her own ID card.

"O-Okay! Thank you so much!" Hanayo was about to leave, but was stopped by Anju.

"Sorry to trouble you, but could you deliver this to Umi-san? She should be at her workplace around this time." Anju handed a white envelope to Hanayo, smiling as she went about renewing Nozomi's card. Hanayo nodded and promptly left the room in search of Umi. Upon reaching the workplace meant for scriptwriters, she heard loud noises that included the threat of killing someone.

"How is it possible that you lost the script?!" A woman with maroon hair yelled at Umi, who was equally cross with the woman.

"How would _I_ know?! I gave it to Eli for a check!"

"How the hell am I supposed to edit your stupid mistakes?!"

"Well how about you stop disappearing when I need you the most?!"

"How am I supposed to be here when I'm attending my grandaunt's funeral?!"

"How about you use Skype?!"

"That's rude! And she lives in Kyoto! Do you know that there isn't much WiFi after that earthquake?!"

"Erena Todo, I swear on my arrow that if you don't-" The argument was interrupted by Hanayo's knocking, who sincerely wished that she wasn't around to hear it. "Oh Koizumi-san, is there something that you need?"

"U-Um... Yuki-san told me to hand this to you..." Hanayo tossed the envelope to the ground, quickly shrinking behind the door. Umi picked up the envelope and tore it open in order to view the contents.

"This is... how did the script end up with Anju?!"

"I-I have no idea, but I will _kill_ Anju for this." Erena shrugged, her teal eyes focusing on Hanayo. "Say, since when this company hired errand girls?"

"That's not an errand girl. She's a new VA, and supposed to be one of the two mains in this script." Umi said, scanning through her script. "Hanayo, this is Erena Todo. I assume that you know something about this _idiot_ from Anju."

"Who are you calling an idiot?! I stay up all night with you just to correct your grammar mistakes!"

"Um... Can I go?" Hanayo asked quietly, though it sounded as though she was pleading.

"Oh! Sure, by the way could you check up on Maki? She tends to... well, let's just say she behaves like a NEET when she's free. She should be in the recording studio, so maybe you could start there? Thanks Hanayo!" Umi smiled warmly as she gently closed the door behind Hanayo. Hanayo blinked for a few second then went about to find Maki in the recording room.

"New VA huh? It's been a long time since we had an actual VA." Erena commented, though not out of malice.

"Yeah. By the way, that comment about her being an errand girl was really rude."

"How was I supposed to know? She didn't look like a VA!"

"She's also an anime fan. So I bet she knows about Private Wars and Shocking Party."

"Oh man, I wish people will forget that."

"They're both decent anime though."

"Inside jokes between Anju and Tsubasa."

"Oh."

XXXXXX

"N-Nishikino-san...? Are you in here...?" Hanayo poked her head into the recording room, surveying for her colleague.

"Ah, Hanayo? What is it?" Maki called out, though Hanayo still couldn't see her.

"U-Um, Sonoda-san asked me to check up on you..." Maki scoffed, standing up from her current location.

"Seriously? Is she worried about me again?!"

"Well um, she mentioned that you behave like a NEET when you're free so yeah..."

"NEET?! Hanayo, take a good look at what I'm doing!" Maki beckoned Hanayo into the room, only for her to see soda bottle, bags of crisps and game controllers strewn across the floor. "Does this look like a NEET scene?!"

"Um..." Hanayo really wanted to tell Maki that she was behaving like a recluse, which was not anywhere better than a NEET but decided not to as Maki truly believed that she was doing something productive. How so, Hanayo didn't know. "Maybe it's because they're all over the floor?"

"Good point, I should put them neatly in one corner." Maki agreed after much consideration. "Say, do you want to join me?"

"Huh?"

"In a game. It's a fantasy game with romance features though, but you can start in another file." Maki offered, holding up a game controller. "Don't worry, this one isn't greasy."

"U-Um, okay...?" Hanayo accepted the offer and sat beside Maki. "H-How do I play this?"

"Don't worry, there's an option to allow you to go through the tutorial."

"U-Um, am I only allowed to choose this character...?" The cursor pointed to a ginger-haired woman holding up a sword. "D-Doesn't she look a little like Kosaka-san...?"

"Well if you're starting the game for the first time, you should pick her. Honoka's kinda like the main in this game so obviously she'll be the first one available right?" Maki replied, smiling at Hanayo. "Don't worry about it, I was only able to use that bozo the first time I played it."

"H-Honoka?! She has the same name as Kosaka-san?!"

"Yeah, in fact all of the characters inside the game have the same name as us. You're in there too." Maki chuckled as she playfully ruffled Hanayo's hair. "You know, you're pretty interesting. I-In a good way of course!"

"T-Thanks? Not many people say that about me."

"Really? Maybe they're just too shy. I'm not being too straightforward right?" Maki stopped the ruffling, turning Hanayo around so that their eyes meet.

"Y-You're just... a little more open compared to the day we first met?"

"That's great, Nico-chan told me to open up more and not be like some cold person." Maki heaved a sigh of relief, going back to her ruffling. "You're the first one that I wanted to play with."

"H-H-Huh?!" Hanayo paled, she never expected Maki to be sadistic. _'A-Am I gonna be tortured forever?! S-Someone save me!'_

"Video games. You're the first person that I don't mind playing games with. I mean, this is just story mode but there's also a VS mode. If you play a little longer then you'll be able to get the feel of more characters' fighting styles."

"F-Fighting style...?" Hanayo heaved a small sigh of relief, her colleague wasn't a sadist like what she had thought. _'Wait, if I thought that she meant in a sadistic way then doesn't that mean that I'm... Oh dear.'_

"No worries, there's no blood involved. Neither is there any gory bits. It's just like an anime RPG, you... have at least heard of them right?"

"Y-Yeah! They're pretty fun to play with."

"Agreed, you can come over anytime you want. Plus we're pretty free until Umi gets her script approved."

"Ah speaking of Sonoda-san! I think her script is approved? I just delivered her script before coming here to find you..."

"Nah, we'll need to wait for a few more weeks before we actually start. Her script normally doesn't get approved the first try."

"They don't?"

"What the hell are you two doing?!" Eli yelled as she entered the room only to see Maki and Hanayo playing. "Shouldn't you two be recording?!"

"Huh? I know Umi just got her script back but-"

"I approved her script already!"

"In one try?!"

"Yes, it's an accomplishment! Now start cleaning up! Sheesh, how the hell did you set up a game area within this room...?" Eli sighed as she picked up a bag of crisps. "Make that a mini arcade. Where did you get so much food?!"

"I have my ways. Damn it, here I thought I could spend my whole day with Hanayo."

"I don't think Hanayo would want to spend her whole day in a dark room doing nothing but playing."

"Actually I don't really mind-" Hanayo started but was cut short by Eli.

"Don't continue that."

XXXXXX

"Maki, tell me again how did you obtain sixteen 1.5 litres bottles of soda?" A brown-haired woman with a short fringe asked, opening a mini fridge the room had.

"I bought them from outside."

"They're heavy."

"Delivery and a Honoka." Maki shrugged as she prepared the recording room for recording. "Where are the microphones?"

"On the floor, beside the headphones. I can't believe you used the headphones to play your game..." Tsubasa pointed to the floor where the mentioned items were, going back to the fridge. "You even have candy."

"I gotta have a pick me up right?"

"No you don't! You have all these... junk food surrounding you!"

"I'm back! Here's the script that's for episode one!" Hanayo entered the room, with Honoka behind her. For some reason, Hanayo was holding the script while Honoka was holding bags filled with riceballs.

"Um, Honoka? Why are you carrying so many bags filled with riceballs?" The woman asked, going over to help. "And instant tomato-based pasta?!"

"I told Hanayo to stock up on food since we plan to record until we got a good take." Maki replied, as though what she said was obvious enough.

"What the heck?"

"Oh right, Hanayo. Meet Tsubasa Kira, she'll be in charge of us." Maki gestured to the woman, who bowed the moment Hanayo faced her.

"Tsubasa Kira, at your service. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting today?" Tsubasa warmly smiled, if Hanayo hadn't known better she would have assumed that Tsubasa was a prince from an alternate reality.

"H-Hanayo Koizumi! I-I'm new here!"

"Well nice to meet you Koizumi-san, I hope that Maki here isn't giving you too much trouble. She's always so hard to communicate with so please be patient with her."

"Hey. What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Um... Where should I put the supplies...?" Honoka asked, seemingly forgotten by the other three.

XXXXXX

"How do you think their first recording will turn out?" Nico asked, spinning her interactive tablet.

"No idea, it should go well. It's just the first episode." Kotori replied, still working on her share of the animations. "Are you done already?"

"Uh yeah, it's just the two mains, a rich ass mansion as the backdrop, fancy rooms, and lastly trees. It's not that time consuming."

"Well if you're so free, then could you kindly help me with Maki-chan's character? It's a little tricky to draw her clothes." Kotori asked, trying her very best to ignore Nico's arrogant remark. She knew that Nico was extremely talented, that didn't mean that she could brag about how quickly she finished her share of work.

"Just draw her in expensive clothes. Oh wait, it says here to draw her in a casual but expensive clothes. Meh, just give her a flare dress. Ooh and a baby blue cardigan, contrasting colours are best in highlighting the character's fashion sense!" Nico beamed as she took over Kotori's share of drawing, ignoring the glare that her colleague was giving her.

"Why don't you give her a piece of your mind?" Anju whispered to Kotori, who looked like she was about to blow up.

"As much as I love to, I don't think Nico-chan will appreciate it if I get mad at her at the very start of an animation."

"Kotori-san, you have been with her for years."

"I can't deny her talent at drawing. _She's_ the reason why Muse Studios is still running." Kotori admitted, with a tinge of bitterness. "Still, I don't find her attitude completely warranted."

"Then tell her in a diplomatic way that you don't like it."

"Anju-chan, she's not the type to accept any critique. It's either her way _or_ the highway. And complaining to Eli-chan or Nozomi-chan won't solve the issue."

"Well, I'll leave you to deal with her. I have tons of animating to do..." Anju shrugged and went about with her animating. It so happened that Nico was done with Kotori's share, which irritated Kotori.

"Kotori, I'm done. Anything else you need my help with?" Nico asked, a frown on her face. _'Huh, never knew that Kotori didn't like me much. I guess it's a bad time to tell her I actually like her. Oh well, maybe I should try to be more humble. Even Eli and Maki-chan are calling me out for it.'_

"Nothing actually, you can ask Anju-chan for more." Kotori hissed, deciding that she'll go with the passive aggression route.

"Riiight... Hey since I'm free, let's have a chat in the cafeteria! C'mon, I'll treat ya!" Nico decided, dragging Kotori out of the room. Once they were in the cafeteria, Nico bought some drinks from a soda machine.

"You want lemon? Or are you the ice cream type?" Nico held two cans in her hands, one that's yellow and the other which is blue with white streaks on it. Kotori snatched the blue one out of Nico's hands, opening it with a fizzing sound. "Sweet, I guess that's another new thing about you that I learnt!"

"Another?" Kotori asked, though it was more of curiosity than sarcasm. She took a sip, gagging it out afterwards. _'Is ice cream soda always... yuck...'_

"Yeah. I learnt that you don't really like me even after like what, four years together?" Nico grinned, opening her own can. "Y'know, I'm not exactly deaf. Plus the room's so quiet, you can even hear a pin drop!"

"... Is that why you dragged me out here?" Kotori asked, giving Nico a side look.

"Pretty much. I wanna hear all of your complaints about me, of course without Anju hearing." Nico shrugged, causally taking a sip out of her own can. "Man, lemon tastes great. You should try one some time soon."

"Since you said that the room was so quiet, then I'm sure you've heard what I have to say about you right?" Kotori's eyes darkened, she didn't know the purpose of Nico dragging her out from work only to ask her about something she already knew.

"Hmm... well, yeah. But I think I would love to hear 'em from your mouth instead." Nico shot Kotori a grin, though it wasn't really a well meaning one.

"Alright then, if you insist." Kotori smiled, obliging to Nico's request. "I don't like it when you make things seem so easy. Just because you're talented, doesn't mean that you flaunt that you can do it faster as compared to others."

"That can't be all can it? I'm sure there's more." Nico took another sip, she was secretly enjoying her crush getting mad at her. Not that she was a masochist.

"Of course! You think that just because you're one of the first few employees you can do whatever you wish? Anju-chan and I spend hours at the table sketching and animating while you spend five minutes before going off to do whatever you usually do!"

"Hey technically, I spend four hours in that room with you guys. And also, I usually go out to shop." Nico replied, smiling teasingly. "What's wrong, upset that you can't spend time with Nico-nii?"

"And one last thing! Your attitude, it's just... gah! Why are you so arrogant?! Can't you be more humble?! Look, I don't care if you're more talented than us! Can you just at least treat us equally?! We're in this together, shouldn't you look out for us?!" Kotori panted, having exhausted what she wanted to say to Nico. Nico on the other hand, looked amused and even laughed at Kotori. "W-What's so funny?! I-I'm being serious!"

"Oh nothing." Nico wiped a tear from her eye, taking a third sip from her can before facing Kotori. "You said the same thing as Maki-chan when I first met her."

"Huh? If that's the case then-"

"Look, I know what you mean. I'm sorry if I seemed arrogant, I just wanted you to depend on me. And some of your problems can really be solved with common sense, which by the way, I'm not insulting you right now."

"You sound like it."

"Sorry sorry. I know I don't accept critique much, which is true. But unlike you, I had to listen to bozos who wanted them to 'try out their way' which I did. It was disastrous, which is why I never trusted others' with their so called 'critique'. It always messes things up."

"You're doing it again. Will you please stop looking down on us?!"

"I can't help it, I've always worked alone until ten years ago with that experience with those idiots. That costed my damn job, which is why I usually give you guys 'the my way or highway' scenario." Nico sighed, regretting telling Kotori about her past experience as a graphic artist in a company. "Anyways, you drinking that soda? You barely touched it."

"... I want to give this disgusting drink a second shot." Kotori simply said, chugging her soda down. Once she was done, her face had a queasy look but still managed to maintain her posture. "Just like I'll give you a second chance to change."

"Uh... what?" Nico asked, dumbfounded by Kotori's statement.

"But you also need to give _me_ a second chance. Not everyone's the same. I don't like this drink but it doesn't mean that other ice cream sodas tastes bad, do they?"

"... Welp, I guess you're right. I guess I'll be going back to work. You coming?" Nico asked, throwing away her lemon drink into the recycling bin.

"Sure, right after I find an economical way to dispose this..." Kotori muttered, contemplating whether she should just dump the drink down the sink or simply place it on a table and label it as a free drink. Before she could make her decision, Nico went up to her and promptly emptied the drink into her mouth.

"Lucky, I got an indirect kiss with you~" Nico smirked, recycling the can. "For the record, I actually hated that lemon soda. I kinda lied when I said it was great."

"Then why didn't you just give the lemon one to me?"

"You just have to suck it up and bear with it sometimes." Nico beamed, pointing to her lips. "Wanna taste the lemon?"

"N-No way!" Kotori blushed as she slapped Nico's shoulder playfully, now having a new perspective towards her colleague. Meanwhile in the recording room...

 _"I-I not sure whether I should be wearing this..."_ Hanayo read out, herself embarrassed over the lines she had to read.

 _"Don't worry, it's just a shorter maid skirt."_ Maki read out, not understanding what was wrong with having a shorter skirt but knew better than to ask.

 _"I-It's embarrassing though!"_

 _"C'mon, I'm paying you a high figure. Think of that as an incentive alright?"_

"Nishikino-san! I cannot believe you want poor Hana-san to wear a short skirt for money! That's prostitution!" Hanayo yelled, completely going off the script.

"Hanayo, calm down. I'm not the one wanting Hana to wear a short skirt!"

"When the hell is wearing short skirts considered prostitution?" Tsubasa groaned as she slammed her head on to a table.

XXXXXX

Nico: So instead of featuring the main pairing, this idiot is featuring me and Kotori.

Eli: Well you know her, unable to stick to one pairing.

Nozomi: True true.

Nico: How is it even related to the story?! It's supposed to be all about recording! And MakiPana!

Nozomi: Look on the bright side, at least _you're_ mentioned in this chapter. I only have one and a half parts in this chapter!

Eli: Excuse me? I only have a few _lines_!

Nico: And Rin had none. Look, this is getting off topic.

 **Lenka:** Yes, Nico is surprisingly a woman with many talents. However, it brings her social problems as seen in this chapter.

Nico: And the idiot writer is ignoring me.

Nozomi: Oh c'mon, you won't know what's gonna happen in the next chapter!

Eli: Yeah! Thank you for reading this chapter!

Nico: We hope that you barf afterwards.

NozoEli: Nico(cchi)!


	3. Chapter 3

Honoka: Alright! Now it's our turn!

Kotori: Yay!

Umi: First, we must-

Honoka: Oh stop being such a bore, the A/N is to have fun!

Kotori: Umi-chan, trust Honoka-chan okay?

Umi: Kotori... I understand, but _if_ you screw this up, I will do this A/N my way.

Honoka: 'Kay~ Man, that sure was interesting~ Who knew that Nico-chan actually had a thing for you, eh Kotori-chan?

Kotori: T-That's not true...! *Blushes*

Um: (This is getting shameless...)

Honoka: Oh, time's up! *Looks at imaginary watch* Welp, we gotta go!

Kotori: We'll continue later at the end!

Umi: Enya doesn't own anything.

XXXXXX

 _"Y-You think I-I look nice with t-this...?"_ Hanayo read out, touching a paperclip that was in her hair so as to give her a better feel to her character's actions.

 _"Yeah, that hair clip suits you perfectly. Think of it as an extra for doing such an excellent job as a maid, n-not that I wanted to give you a gift for no reason or anything!"_ Maki read out, thinking that her character felt so similar to someone that she knew... except she didn't know who did it resemble.

 _"T-Thank you so much Nikugara-sama!"_

 _"Don't mention it. By the way, wanna accompany me outside? I could use some company."_ Maki frowned, what kind of character was she dealing with? It was already the anime's fourth episode, yet Maki still couldn't understand her character. _'This stupid lady wounds my pride as a veteran VA...'_

"O-Okay then!" Hanayo replied, going off the script. Thankfully, her voice was still in character so even if Tsubasa decided that it's a good take it wouldn't ruin the recording so far. Tsubasa noticed Hanayo's slip up, but allowed the duo to wrap up their recording for the day before saying anything.

"That's a nice take. Oh and Koizumi-san, you deviated from the script a little. But don't worry, it's an awesome take. In fact, I think it's probably better that way." Tsubasa said, patting Hanayo on the head. This earnt her a glare from Maki, who made a low growl.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hanayo squeaked, bowing deeply. "I won't make another mistake like this again!"

"Hanayo, she's telling you to make more mistakes. Oh well, since we're done... wanna play the game I introduced to you two weeks ago?" Maki asked, her usually grumpy face overtaken by a hesitant, but hopeful glance. Before Hanayo could reply, Nozomi entered the room with Eli.

"Hello everyone~ Do you know what day it is?" Nozomi beamed, holding up a calendar. Maki and Tsubasa groaned while Hanayo blinked, confused at the sudden question.

"Um... Isn't today 20 December?" Eli laughed awkwardly, going over to the VAs. "R-Right?"

"Hanayo... Don't you know that Christmas is coming?" Maki asked, which for some reason made Tsubasa pale. Hanayo nodded, but still failing to see the importance of that day. "... Is this not stated in the contract?"

"Why would Nozomi put details of an annual Christmas party in the contract?" Tsubasa sighed, placing a sympathetic hand on Hanayo's shoulder. "You may need to start buying a gift for the party."

"Eh? But I thought there's work on Christmas?" Hanayo innocently asked, surprising the rest for her serious work attitude. Eli shook her head, deciding to simply explain why don't they work on Christmas.

"Muse Studios isn't like other places, we don't work on Christmas. We always hold an annual Christmas party at one of our houses, which for your information, we held it at Nozomi's house last year."

"And we will all go and pray on New Year's, another 'tradition' of this shit studio." Maki held up two fingers to emphasise the word.

"Oh I see, it also explains why lately Rin-chan doesn't celebrate Christmas or New Year's with me..."

"We _did_ tell her to invite you for the past two years, but she always refuses..." Nozomi said, noting a new presence in the recording room. "Oh Rin-chan, we were just talking about you yan!"

"Why did you tell Kayo-chin about the party nya?! You guys will traumatise her!" Rin panicked, going over to Hanayo. "Kayo-chin, don't go nya! Rin didn't spend them with you for the past two years as Rin doesn't want you near them nya!"

"Don't make all of us sound like villains Rin..." Maki shrugged, not denying that _some_ indeed acted like one. "... So? Are we gonna draw or not?"

"NOOOOOO! DON'T DRAG KAYO-CHIN'S PRISTINE HOUSE INTO THIS NYAAA!" Rin vehemently objected, tackling Nozomi to the ground. "DON'T DO IT NYAAAA! RIN WILL SACRIFICE HER PAY TO BUY YOU YAKINIKU NYAAAA!"

"Wow, all of her words are in caps..."

"Tsubasa, don't break the fourth wall."

"What do you know about fourth walls anyway Eli?"

"U-Um, what time will it be held?" Hanayo asked, stunning Tsubasa, Eli and Maki. The other two had mixed reactions, with one of them having a Cheshire smile plastered on her face.

"Noooooo Kayo-chin!"

XXXXXX

"And that's why Rin-chan is so upset." Hanayo explained, with her two colleagues accompanying Hanayo for lunch. Nico nodded sagely, while Umi sighed. Both women were sympathetic towards Rin's source of distress, as such decided to offer Hanayo some advice.

"Hanayo, whatever you do, don't touch the liquor. They're always damn strong, you'll get yourself knocked out within an instant." Nico warned, jabbing a finger at a nearby Honoka. "That bread-lover over there went cuckoo last year after three sips of Eli's vodka."

"Hanayo, listen to Nico. You'll also be forced to do very embarrassing and shameless penalties if you lose." Umi nodded, grabbing Hanayo by the shoulders. "If you have to lose, don't _ever_ lose during Nozomi's round."

"V-Vodka?! Penalties?!"

"Oh, are you guys talking the upcoming Christmas party? Man, they're always killer!" Honoka, after hearing the conversation, bounced over to the trio. Umi made a face, while Nico shook her head slowly in an attempt to warn Honoka of her words.

"K-Killer?!" Hanayo squeaked, she wasn't a fan of rowdy parties. Heck, her idea of a nice party is a quiet celebration with her closest friends with her. Oh, and a nice cake with some rice in her beloved rice cooker of course.

"Duh! We'll exchange presents, get drunk, play some wicked games, and of course..."

"Oh no, no no no no. Honoka, _please_."

"Honoka, listen to Umi!"

"Stripping session~" Nico facepalmed, while Umi fainted as Hanayo stood rooted to the floor, her face starting to turn as pale as rice while blushing at the same time. Truly, only Hanayo (and Umi) was capable of such an expression.

"Oh my nico nico gods, what have you done?!" Nico screamed, her hands conveniently around Honoka's neck. "Rin will _murder_ us!"

"Honoka-chan~ Sorry for th- Nico-chan, get your hands off Honoka-chan's neck!" Kotori yelled, separating the duo. "Nico-chan!"

"Sorry, sorry, but she just corrupted Hanayo's pure white innocence!" Nico explained, pointing an accusing finger at Honoka. "Damn it you bread addict!"

"Wow, you two look like a married couple!" Kotori's eyes glinted with irritation, while Nico was doing all she could to not mess up in front of her crush.

"... Is that supposed to be a compliment Honoka-chan? Nico-chan and I don't go well together." Kotori frowned, even though she understood Nico better, it didn't mean that the two of them were all 'best buddies for life'. Neither did it mean that she was starting to fall for her feisty, rude and arrogant senior.

"Ouch, that hurts." Kotori rolled her eyes at Nico's fake sorrow. "Aw, but really that's blunt and hurtful of you."

"You need a blunt arrow to pierce that thick nico skull of yours."

"I'll die if an arrow really enters my skull."

"Then drop dead."

"Wow, you two _are_ a married couple! Nico-chan, no one has _ever_ made Kotori mad in public before!" Honoka's baby-blue eyes sparkled, not knowing when to shut up and currently in admiration of Nico.

Instead of Kotori trying to restrain Nico from strangling Honoka, it was Nico who's trying to restrain Kotori from sending her best friend to bread heaven.

XXXXXX

"That's what happened? Yikes, I always thought that Kotori-san was pretty meek..." Anju commented, slurping on a ramen set Rin had bought her a while ago. Nico nodded, her neck covered in bruises.

"She ended up strangling _me_. Like, what the hell did I do to her?!"

"A lot nya." Rin entered the resting room, holding a can of soda in her hands. "Kotori-chan said that you sexually harassed her."

"When?!"

"If Rin knew, Rin would have told you nya..."

"Utter bullshit!"

"Forget about Kotori-san's and Nico-san's BDSM relationship, how is Hanayo-san taking it?" Anju ignored Nico's defence, her hands on her phone. "Oh, the grill that Nozomi-san always wanted is on a discount..."

"It's randomised. Not Secret Santa like the first time the three of us celebrated Christmas... which ended up something like a normal exchanging session..." Nico reminded, her phone buzzing at a new message. "Oh, someone just texted me."

"But seriously nya, those two have such a kinky relationship!"

"I know. Hey Rin-san, have you head the rumours?"

"What rumours?"

"Well there are lots. But the most relevant one is that-"

"What the hell?! We're doing a Secret Santa this year?!" Nico exclaimed, managing to stop Anju from saying the 'relevant rumour'. Whether it was a coincidence or not, it didn't matter for Anju could simply reveal it during the party.

"Uh huh, so how is Nozomi-chan gonna decide it nya?" Another buzz from Nico's phone seemed to contain the answer to Rin's question, and it certainly did.

"All 12 of us are supposed to gather at the cafeteria to draw lots. And she sent it to the group! How is it possible that you two don't know jackshit?!" Nico fumed, waving her phone in front of the other two.

"Oh, I put mine on silent. It's distracting when someone wants to contact me while I'm animating." Anju half-heartedly apologised, her eyes focused on the screen. "Wow! The discount's at 70 percent!"

"You certainly didn't silent your phone if you're on it the whole freaking time!" Nico yelled, snatching the phone away from Anju and tapping on the messenger application. "What the hell?! You _muted_ the group?!"

"You guys were quite noisy in the chat." Anju replied, taking back her phone from Nico. Rin nodded and showed Nico her own phone, backing Anju's point.

"She's totally right nya! Nozomi-chan spams a lot so Rin decided to mute it too!"

"You two... Okay whatever, we should get to the cafeteria first. Then complain to Nozoboobs and her spams." Nico sighed, her two colleagues _did_ had a point after all.

XXXXXX

"Secret Santa?! Nozomi, this is a terrible idea." Eli shook her head, against the concept of buying a gift for someone. Heck, what if the recipient of the gift had unusual tastes? That made it harder for Eli to find that perfect gift.

"Elichi, I know what's going through your head right now. No one in this company has any weird taste." Nozomi reassured, slightly amused that Eli's worries were always so trivial.

"You'll never know. Remember the party four years ago?" Kotori and Nico flushed while the rest had a mix of expressions, Hanayo's was understandably one of confusion while Rin's was of sheer curiosity.

"E-Eli-chan! You promised not to bring that up!" Kotori panicked, not wanting to remember what had happened four years ago. Eli nodded, silently apologising to Kotori while the others just looked on.

"Okay okay, let's get down to business yan? Just pick one from this box here!" Nozomi produced a medium-sized pink box, holding it out to the other eleven. One by one, they slowly drew a piece of paper from the box.

"Oh... well, damn it." Erena swore as she opened her piece of paper, a name written inside. "Seriously, do I have to get something or can I just like, wish that person 'Merry Christmas'?"

"You have to get her something Erena-chan." Nozomi sighed, already guessing who did Erena get. "It's called Secret Santa for a reason."

"Yeah! Ooh, what about the location of the party?! We gotta decide that!" Honoka asked, reminding Nozomi about the most important detail of the party, the host. "Let's decide by the 'not it' rule!"

"Not it (nya)!" Nine voices were heard, leaving only Maki, Hanayo and Honoka. The trio looked at each other, none of them wanted to be the host of this year's Christmas party.

"Not it!" Hanayo paled, she failed to save herself in time. Now she had to spend Boxing Day cleaning up and preparing futons for her colleagues to sleep over on Christmas Eve...

"Okay Honoka-chan! You're this year's host! The party will start at 6.30 pm, Honoka-chan's place! Dismissed!" ... or so she thought. What Nozomi had announced was totally different from what Hanayo was expecting. The rest nodded, the cafeteria soon leaving only Honoka and Hanayo.

"Haha, surprised huh?" Honoka asked, nudging Hanayo. Hanayo nodded, she didn't say anything during the determining round. "I pretended that I was you~"

"E-Eh?!" Hanayo blinked, what did Honoka mean by 'pretended'?

"I'm still a VA y'know. Of course I can do a voice over of you! Maki-chan will skin me if I allowed you to be the host this year..." Honoka shuddered, the thought of being skinned alive wasn't pretty. "Plus, you don't know the 'not it' rule we have here. So, kinda unfair of me to throw you to the deep end eh?"

"T-Thank you Kosaka-san..." Hanayo bowed deeply, she was so relieved to know that she didn't need to spend her remaining last days of the year to clean up. "I-I am forever in your debt."

"Don't make it sound so serious Kayo-chan! See ya around!" Honoka winked, running off afterwards.

 _'Kosaka-san... is quite nice after all. Wait, does this mean that I thought she was a bad person all this time? I should apologise to her once again...'_

XXXXXX

"Man, you two are freaking early! Well don't just stand there, come in!" Honoka whistled in admiration of her two colleagues' punctuality. Erena and Hanayo nodded, entering into the host's house.

"Are we the first two to arrive?" Erena asked, admiring the cleanliness of Honoka's house. She expected it to be much messier after all. Hanayo took a look at Honoka's doorstep, apart from Erena's and her own pair of shoes, there were two more. She assumed that one belonged to Honoka, so it meant that there was someone before them.

"Well if you mean arrive today, then yeah! Umi-chan came over yesterday to help me spruce up this place. I told there was no need since you guys are gonna thrash it anyways but she insisted." Honoka laughed, leading them to a room. "Make yourself comfortable in my living room. Umi-chan's bathing."

"That certainly explained how tidy this house is..." Erena commented, not bothering to mince her words. At this moment Umi came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped tightly around her slender frame. She didn't notice the two women's presence in the room, not until a loud click from Erena's smartphone sounded.

"Whoops."

"W-What are the two of you doing here?!" Umi shrieked, trying to cover as much skin as possible by pulling down her towel. Unfortunately for her, her towel decided to release itself from Umi's body, falling onto the floor like in romance animes. Umi's streak of bad luck continued when Erena decided to take a nude shot of the scriptwriter. "E-Erena! Put your phone down!"

"Aw, I was thinking of sending it to a certain someone who would appreciate these..."

"ERENA...!" Umi growled lunging for the phone but missing horribly. Erena laughed gleefully as she promptly ran out of the living room to another room, leaving Hanayo in the living room. Honoka came back with snacks, surprised to see a towel on the floor.

"Why is this on the floor...? Kayo-chan, do you know where did this come from?" Honoka asked, holding up the towel. Before Hanayo could answer, she was cut off by an ear-piercing scream. "Sounds like Kotori-chan!"

"U-Umi-chan! W-Why are you... oh god!" Kotori quickly covered her eyes, while the other woman beside her smirked. "N-Nico-chan! Stop ogling at Umi-chan's body!"

"I ain't ogling." Nico replied, but wolf-whistled at Umi nonetheless.

"Then why are you still staring at her?!"

"I'm admiring one of nature's sculptures." Nico grinned as she entered the house, ignoring Umi and Erena. "Oh hey Honoka, never knew that Umi's a beast in your house~"

"S-She j-just came out of the shower and..." Hanayo explained, quickly removing her glasses so that she couldn't see anything.

"So that's what happened huh? Welp, show's over you two!" Nico barked, snatching the towel out from Honoka's hands and hurling it at Umi. "Sheesh, it's freezing out there. Don't catch a cold now."

"A-Are you dressed yet Umi-chan?" Kotori asked, giving Umi some decency unlike Nico, who was still busy staring at Umi's thighs.

"N-Not yet! I-I think I'll just go and change in Honoka's room..." Umi muttered, running off. Knocking was heard shortly after, with Kotori opening the door for them (since she was the closest).

"Hello Kotori-chan~ Hope we're not late yan!" Nozomi smiled, pulling off her purple scarf. Behind her was Maki and Rin, who were both eager to enter the warm haven.

"Nope, you guys are still early! C'mon in!" Honoka greeted, glancing at a clock on a counter. "Man, you guys sure are early. It's not even 6 yet!"

"We're afraid of traffic." Maki explained, going over to Hanayo. "Hey Hanayo, do you want to try out a game I have in my Play Station Vita?"

"Sure Nishikino-san! What is the name?" Hanayo beamed, glancing over Maki's shoulder.

"Oh, 'It's A Hot, Hot Life'. It's a really fun game, though it's meant for adults only. Here, which one do you like most?" Maki showed the screen to Hanayo, letting her choose the character she liked most.

"The lifeguard! She looks like you, and I love her nonchalant expression! I bet she's one of those cool beauties you see in those shoujo anime right?" Hanayo squealed, excitedly pointing to the Maki lookalike. Maki blushed at Hanayo's comments, despite being fully aware that Hanayo wasn't admiring her looks.

"She's the main character actually. You know who I like most?" Hanayo shook her head, waiting for Maki to reply. "I like this one, your lookalike. She's an inn owner, and a hardworking one too. Just like you Hanayo."

"O-Oh... Thank you Nishikino-san..." Hanayo bashfully replied, unable to look Maki in the eyes. The rest shot each other a knowing smirk, Maki's way of flirting with the newcomer wasn't exactly subtle in the slightest.

 _'Oh Maki (chan), you're such an adorable dork...'_

XXXXXX

Honoka: And that's all for part 1!~

Umi: Part 1?!

Honoka: Well yeah, Enya-chan decided to split up the chapter as she has a personal rule to hit not more than 4000+ words if possible!

Umi: What a stupid rule...

Kotori: Now now Umi-chan, let's respect the author okay?

Umi: Hmph, then the reviews?

Kotori: Will be addressed in part 2~ After all, she's releasing Chapters 3 and 4 together!

Honoka: Yup! So the reviews will be in Chapter 4!

Kotori: And the ones for the A/N?

Honoka: Will be a totally different cast! A round of applause please!

Kotori: Yay! *Claps*

Umi: Hey.

Honoka: Oh we forgot about you... Heh...

Umi: Since this A/N's taking up too much lines, we should end here and leave it to the next cast.

Kotori: Oh you're right! With that, we end part 1~


	4. Chapter 4

Tsubasa: It's our turn to do this huh?

Erena: Yeah. I agree with Umi that the author is simply-

Anju: Erena-chan, calm your tits~

Erena: I-I beg your pardon?!

Anju: Huh? I just said tits, or could it be that you don't know what t-

Erena: I know that you fatty! I was referring to your language!

Anju: Well _you_ need to watch yours! It's rude to make fun of my weight!

Erena: Well you started it Wailord!

Anju: W-Wailord?! I-I'm not _that_ heavy!

Erena: Snorlax then!

Anju: That's worse!

Tsubasa: I'm terribly sorry that we have to start the fourth chapter this way... Anyways, Enya doesn't own anything!

XXXXXX

"Ahaha, now that we're all here... let's start the hotpot already yan!" Nozomi said, holding up a plate filled with tofu. "Tofu is a must when it comes to hotpots!"

"I brought salmon. Kotori, what did you bring?" Eli held up a plate filled with raw salmon, making Rin scoot away from Eli. "Sorry Rin, you know how much Erena loves salmon..."

"Don't worry Rin, I brought you ramen." Erena smiled as she gestured to a huge pile of ramen.

"A-Are you gonna put all of them into the hotpot...? I-I brought eggs this time, will it overflow with the ramen...?" Kotori asked, slightly taken aback by the ramen mountain.

"Uh... Welp, one way to find out nya!" Rin shrugged, snatching the eggs and tossing them into the pot. "Now time for the ramen!"

"Oh no you don't. We should save them for last." Umi swiftly added her ingredients into the pot.

"Aw man, veggies _again_?!" Rin groaned, her face filled with disgust as she watched the vegetables float up to the surface of the soup. "Gross nya."

"You should eat your greens Rin." Maki sighed as she tried to add her ingredient into the pot. Key word being 'tried'. "Oi Nico-chan, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Maki-chan, no. We had tomato hotpots for the past four years. It's time to switch it up." Nico replied, her hand held on to Maki's hand tightly to prevent her from adding tomatoes into the pot.

"T-Tomato hotpot?!" Hanayo squeaked, she had never once heard of tomato hotpots and wasn't keen on trying one anytime soon.

"Tch. Fine. I brought something else then." Maki sighed, putting away the tomatoes. "I can at least add that in right?"

"Sure, anything but tomatoes." Nico released her grip, allowing Maki to add her second ingredient into the pot. That was her fatal mistake, for Maki added something far worse than tomatoes. The soup didn't change colour, but the taste of it...

"Oh my god! Maki, why did you add sugar into the soup?!" Eli reeled back from the pot, disgusted by Maki's actions.

"Sugar? This is salt for goodness sake."

"There is a freaking label that says otherwise!" Maki turned the container around, soon seeing a five-lettered word instead of four.

"Oh."

"This is why I didn't want a hotpot this year..." Tsubasa sighed, switching the heat off.

"You never want a hotpot at all..." Anju decided to toss the contents of the pot into the sink before placing it back to its previous position. "Do we still have enough food to go around?"

"I brought rice?" Hanayo offered her rice to Anju, who took it and added into the pot. "Um, is that supposed to go into the pot?"

"Don't know, don't care. Okay guys, toss everything you have left except for Maki-san."

"Hey! That's discrimination!" Maki yelled as she watched everyone else add their ingredients into the pot, ignoring Maki as they did so. "Don't ignore me guys, I'm not Nico-chan!"

"Whaddya mean by that?!" Nico asked, shooting Maki death glares. "I'm your freaking senior you dumbass!"

"You?! More like a nico nico newbie!"

"Oh yeah you gay ass panther?!"

"Yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"Um..." Hanayo wanted to speak up, but was shushed by Umi.

"Don't mind those two, it's normal..."

"O-Okay...?"

XXXXXX

"Fwah~ I'm stuffed!" Honoka sighed in content as she lied on the floor, her arms spread out. "What should we do now? Secret Santa or booze games?"

"Booze games already Honoka...? Geez, let me enjoy the gift my Secret Santa got me..." Tsubasa sighed, stretching her arms.

"Tsu-chan, you're so impatient yan~" Nozomi grinned, holding up a bottle of whiskey. "Let's take a vote shall we?"

"Whisky? Where did you get that?" Eli asked, folding her arms. "Anyways, I vote for Secret Santa first."

"Eli-san, it's 'whiskey'. There's an 'e' in it."

"Tsubasa, please just stop breaking fourth walls."

"It's labelled on the bottle for Christ sake..." Tsubasa pointed out. True enough, the bottle was indeed labelled 'whiskey'.

"I know that, that's what I just said."

"No, the author typed 'whisky' for your dialogue."

"Stop breaking the damn walls Tsubasa!"

"I dunno what walls are you two ramblin' about, but I'm gonna go for the Santa thing." Nico said, breaking up the argument between Eli and Tsubasa.

"I will go for the presents first." Umi responded, knowing that the party should remain sane for as long as possible. _'Hanayo cannot be allowed to experience the horrors of Nozomi's games so early into the night...'_

"Hmm~ I think that Nozomi-chan's games to start of the Christmas party sounds interesting~" The person who uttered those words shocked many, never did anyone expect that someone as innocent as her will be so daring.

"Kotori, you really _are_ the devil..." Nico muttered as she bit on a pocky stick. _'Well, I expected it anyways...'_

"Aw right Kotori-chan! That's four for presents, three for games!" Honoka cheered, glancing towards the rest who haven't voted.

"Hmm~ I'm ready to drink anytime~" Anju said, shooting Erena a playful grin. "What about you Erena-chan?"

"Presents of course." Erena replied, turning to face Eli. "Eli, your call?"

"Presents I guess..." Eli shrugged, she had a high tolerance for alcohol so it didn't really matter. However, she would prefer to avoid a chaotic situation as much as possible.

"You two are kill joys." Anju teased, poking Erena's left cheek. "That leaves..."

"What? You know which team I'll go for." Maki curtly replied, pulling out a Santa hat to prove her point. "Six to four, do we still have to vote?"

"Of course yan~ If both Hanayo-chan and Rin-chan vote for me-"

"Presents (nya)." Immediately, both Rin and Hanayo said their decisions. No way in kitty hell will Rin leave her best friend to the whims of her mischievous boss. Hanayo on the other hand was smart enough to listen to the advice of both Nico and Umi, she wasn't about to risk her chances to make a fool out of herself in front of Maki.

"Eight to four. Time for presents." Maki smirked, pulling out her own present. "So, how are we gonna go about it?"

"Hmm... Why don't we just pass 'em around until we get ours?" Nozomi suggested, failing to think her idea thoroughly. "Alrighty, let's all sit in a circle yan~"

"I feel like a child again..." Nico commented as she took a seat between Umi and Anju. "Nozomi, why the hell do we need to sit like this? I don't wanna feel like a kid again y'know."

"Oh but Nicocchi, aren't you still a child~?"

"Dammit Nozoboobs."

XXXXXX

"Okay okay so everyone knows how the song goes right?" Eli asked, sighing at her two best friends' childish actions.

"Question!" Rin raised her hand, which Eli soon noticed. Once Eli gave her the go ahead, Rin asked what she wanted to know. "Who came up with this song nya?"

"Uh..." Eli couldn't answer that question, for she had simply taken the 'lyrics' from a drunken tune one of them had belted out at the Christmas party held three years ago. _'I really have no idea, I think it was probably Umi? Not like she'll want that memory to be dug up anyways...'_

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Maki grumbled, impatiently drumming her fingers on the floor. Eli nodded, agreeing with Maki. "Okay, one, two, three."

 _"Presents going round and round, who's your Secret Santa now?"_ The twelve of them started pass the presents to the next person, the words repeating until everyone stopped passing. Some of them found the repetitive song irritating and downright humiliating, but they had no choice but to sing or they'll face Maki's wrath. Within seven minutes, everyone had received the presents meant for them.

"Hey! This isn't Secret Santa anymore if you write your name down Umi-chan!" Honoka complained, her present wrapped in blue wrapping paper. "Follow the rules at least! Aren't you a stickler for rules?!"

"I don't see the need to follow the rule of something so unproductive." Umi casually replied, holding a box that was wrapped in maroon. "Besides, you can already tell from the colour that I used to wrap your gift that it's from me."

"So you know who's your Secret Santa? That's no fun yan~" Nozomi smirked, glancing at her present. Hers was wrapped in bright pink wrapping paper, with a strip of purple ribbon tied over it. "Well, I know mine too. At least it's not as obvious as yours Umi-chan~"

"No... Yours is also pretty obvious..." Umi pointed out, quickly figuring out who was Nozomi's Secret Santa. "In fact, most of them are quite obvious..."

"Is it now? Well, let's open them on the count of three~" Nozomi was about to count, but was beaten to it by Honoka.

"Three!" Honoka ripped her present open (much to Umi's chagrin), revealing a sticker book. "Umi-chan, how did you get this?! It's really rare!"

"Uh..." Umi recounted that very day when she got her hands on the limited sticker book, where by she had to perform some shameless actions (AKA give a hug) to the store owner who had a huge crush on her. "It's a secret."

"Aww... Still, thanks! I'm gonna put all my treasured stickers into this one!" Honoka beamed, hugging her book protectively. "I'm gonna put this in my safe!"

"She has a safe for her books...?" Eli wondered out loud as Honoka ran off to find her safe, opening her presents carefully. "Oh my, it's a raccoon plushie..."

"That looks so cuddly nya!" Rin commented, opening hers. "Oh wow! Two tickets to Ramen Land!"

"What the heck is that place?!" Maki asked, hoping to hear the place wrongly. "Ramen Land?!"

"Is it the one at Yokohama?" Anju asked, peeking at the tickets. "Oh, it's actually an amusement park..."

"Ehhhh?" Maki exclaimed, shocked to hear that there was actually an amusement park with that name. _'Who's the one who gave that to Rin anyways?!'_

"Yeah! Rin went with Kayo-chin once nya~" Hanayo nodded, Rin's family brought Rin and her to that amusement park on her fifteenth birthday.

"Yeah! The Kettle Waterfall was fun!" Hanayo added, recalling the most enjoyable moment on that trip.

"I'm glad that you liked your Santa's gift. Now, what did mine give me...?" Tsubasa smiled, secretly pleased that Rin liked her gift. _'What the...'_

"That one is from me!" Nozomi beamed, grinning as Tsubasa held up her gift. "Not bad eh?"

"... How...?" Tsubasa asked, both amazed and horrified at the gift. In her hands was a lacy black bra, with a note that contained a string of numbers. _'How... did she... get my size...?'_

"Hehe~ Secret! Wonder what's mine yan~" Nozomi hummed a tune as she opened hers. "Oh my..."

"What, you don't like mine?" Nico asked, ripping open hers. "... Thanks, whoever my Secret Santa is."

"It's unlike you to be so humble." Kotori muttered, hiding a blush on her face. _'S-She thanked me...! S-She's cute... wait, no! Don't fall for her charms Kotori!'_

"Kotori, what did you get?" Umi asked, eyeing her present with interest. "You haven't opened yours at all?"

"Hehe, I was about to Umi-chan~" Kotori grinned, carefully opening hers. "Haha, I expected it after all..."

"Well, at least it's a bread plush... It's cute too." Umi replied, patting it. "Are the rest done opening their presents?"

"Are you?" Erena asked, staring at her present. "I'm certainly done with mine."

"Actually, you're the only one who hasn't opened it yet." Maki pointed out, cuddling a large riceball plush toy. "Cuddly..."

"Yup~" Hanayo mimicked Maki's actions, the only difference was a tomato plush toy.

"... Why do I feel like the two of you got the presents for yourselves...?"

XXXXXX

"Alrighty~ Now with the presents over with... LET'S PLAY!" Nozomi cheered, fist pumping into the air. Honoka and Anju followed suit, with eight collective sighs and one very worried Hanayo. "What should we play first?"

"How about 'let's have a normal party for Hanayo'." Nico suggested, trying to protect Hanayo. Immediately, Nozomi made a cross with her arms, vetoing the idea within an instant.

"No way! We need something more fun yan!"

"... Sorry, I tried." Nico shot Hanayo a helpless look, feeling guilty for not protecting Hanayo.

"Okay, how about Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Umi suggested, surprising (and shocking) all of them.

"That's the spirit Umi-chan~ Okay, you six will be the ones drawing!" Honoka immediately pointed to six random people, before skipping away to get the necessary materials. Nozomi and Anju followed, most likely to make the game more 'interesting'.

"W-Why did you suggest that?" Eli asked, worried for Hanayo's safety. "You know Nozomi isn't the safest person to be with in a closet!"

"There's 1/6 chance that Hanayo will get Anju. Plus Honoka pointed to both Hanayo and Nozomi, so there's no problem." Umi explained, glancing towards Rin. "I understand your reaction to this, but don't worry too much."

"Not that, Rin's worried about the alcohol Nozomi-chan has in her hands nyow..." Rin gestured to Nozomi, who was in the kitchen grabbing bottles of alcohol out from Honoka's refrigerator.

"That is a concern..."

"Kotori, you are in no position to say that after taking Nozoboobs's side." Nico groaned, memories of a Christmas party flooding back to her mind. "Okay, who are the six to draw?"

"Eli, Hanayo, Nozomi, Rin, Nico and me." Tsubasa counted, glancing at Nico. "We only have Anju to worry about."

"Worry about what?" Anju asked, her hand holding a large box. In fact, the box looked similar to the pink one Nozomi used five days ago.

"N-Nothing, let's get started." Nine of them gulped, they didn't want to get Nozomi or Anju for the game. Honoka was considered tame by everyone except Hanayo, who was still relatively new to the company.

"Okay okay, I know you guys are impatient. The order is listed on the paper you get." Anju sighed, she had overheard what the 'sane' players where discussing about. _'I hope I get Nozomi-san, I'm probably one of the few who can keep up with her...'_

"No! I am _not_ going in with you!" Kotori yelled at Nico, who had a triumphant smile on her face. "S-Stop smiling like that!"

"Aw. Don't you miss my touch?"

"Nico-chan, keep this PG rated." Maki curtly requested, taking a peek at Hanayo's slip. "Oh I'm with you. Thank god it's not Anju..."

"... Y-Yeah." Hanayo replied, unable to lock eyes with Maki. _'W-Why am I getting so nervous?! I-It's Nishikino-san after all, she won't do anything bad to me... right?'_

"I'm with Umi." Eli said, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Rin's with Honoka-chan nya."

"And I'm with Erena. Which means..." Nine pairs of eyes looked at Anju, Cheshire smiles on their faces. Anju didn't like their expressions, even though she _did_ wish that she was paired up with Nozomi.

"Hey guys! I've prepared the room for the game!" Honoka entered the living room, a smile on her face as Nozomi entered with alcohol in her hands. "Ooh, the booze is out eh?"

"Yup!" Nozomi grinned, slamming the bottles down on to a table. "So, who's with who?"

"EliUmi, HonoRin, NozoAnju, TsubaErena, MakiPana, KotoNico accordingly." Umi replied, glaring at the bottles. "Honoka, when did you buy the rum...?"

"Uhhh today I think? I dunno, does it matter?" Honoka shrugged, going over to Anju. She then secretly gave Anju a device, surprising Anju greatly. "For your safety."

"An alarm, not like you to worry about others Honoka-san."

"N-Nozomi-chan's pretty dangerous when you're alone with her, locked up with nothing but darkeness..." Honoka replied, going over to Eli and Umi afterwards. "Ladies, are you ready for some hot smooching?!"

"What? I'm not going to make out with Umi..." Eli sighed, following Honoka to the closet. Umi followed suit, her hands balled into tight fists.

"Wait! You two must drink at least one bottle before entering!" Nozomi stopped the trio, thrusting two bottles to Eli and Umi. "C'mon, chug already!"

"... I will _murder_ Nozomi later..." Umi growled as she downed a bottle. Eli chose to pray for Nozomi's safety once the seven minutes were over.

 _'May Nozomi live long enough to enjoy her grill...'_

XXXXXX

"It's our turn. Hanayo, are you good with alcohol?" Maki asked, analysing the results after entering the closet. Eli and Umi didn't do anything, with Umi soon collapsing due to her low tolerance to alcohol. Honoka and Rin came out blushing, with Honoka mumbling about how great Rin was as a kisser. Anju came out tired, with questionable fluids seen on her thighs. Nozomi on the other hand, came out refreshed. As for Tsubasa and Erena, they both came out with bruises on their necks. _'I have a bad feeling about this... good thing I'm pretty okay when it comes to alcohol...'_

"U-Um... M-Maybe? I don't know, I've never drank it before..." Hanayo admitted, ignoring Nozomi's wolf-whistling. "A-Are you?"

"Somewhat. Hey Nozomi, give us the bottle already!" Nozomi nodded, handing Maki a bottle that was half-filled. "Huh?"

"Well... Rin-chan threatened to kill me if I allowed Hanayo-chan to be drunk. So even though I'm against it, it'll be a one time thing." Nozomi sighed, she rather watch chaos brewing among her colleagues than to see most of her colleague acting normally. "Okay, off into the closet!"

"... Well, seems like we'll be in here for a while." Maki commented, taking a corner that is farthest from Hanayo.

"U-Um... Can I sit with you?" Hanayo asked, surprising Maki. Wasn't she afraid of the possibility that she may get herself attacked?

"A-Are you sure? I'm happy that you trust me though, but still..."

"Of course I trust you! You're very kind, and responsible!" Hanayo replied, managing to locate Maki in the dark.

"Hmm, well if you put it that way... I can't refuse, plus you're already beside me..." Maki sighed, secretly happy that Hanayo was beside her. "How are you liking Muse Studios so far?"

"Well... Kosaka-san can be a bit scary at times, oh and Ayase-san too! And... is there something going on between Yazawa-san and Minami-san? I get the feeling that their relationship isn't as cheery as I expected?"

"Honoka and Eli are alright. Honoka's the really friendly type, while Eli... Eli's just a perfectionist. As for Nico-chan and Kotori... uh... let's just go with a love-hate relationship. But don't worry though, all of us are on good terms." Maki pondered for a moment, the relationship between Kotori and Nico was getting better, therefore it's safe to classify it as a love-hate relationship right?

"Really? Well... what is Minami-san really like?" Hanayo asked, scaring Maki with her unexpected perceptiveness. "I get the feeling that Yazawa-san and Minami-san are alike, but the latter seems more... difficult to read?"

"Hanayo."

"Y-Yes?!"

"First, stop addressing us so formally. We're on the same level."

"Y-Yes Maki-san!"

"... Okay good enough. Now regarding Nico-chan and Kotori... I advise you to stay out of it. In fact, not many people want to get involved in their complicated relationship. Not even our cupid." Maki warned, though it was just out of worry. Hanayo didn't understand though, she knew she wasn't in some game where her colleagues were dangerous.

"A-Are they bad people?!"

"NO!" Maki yelled, startling Hanayo. "No, just... it's hard to explain. What I can tell you is that Kotori is the one who doesn't really like Nico-chan much. Even though she likes her."

"Um... what?"

"T-That's why I said it's complicated!"

"Okay lovebirds, I know you two want to chat more in private but it's Nicocchi's turn~!" As if on cue, Nozomi opened the closet door, blinding Maki and Hanayo with the light.

"Urgh... So bright..." Maki groaned as she stumbled her way out of the closet, Hanayo was about to follow suit, but was promptly stopped by Nozomi.

"Uweh?"

"Hanayo-chan~ I advise you to stay out of Nicocchi's and Kotori-chan's affairs yan!" Hanayo blinked, was Nozomi eavesdropping on her conversation with Maki? "Trust me. Not even their best friends wanna get involved."

"O-Okay?" Hanayo nodded, soon running past Nozomi in order to join the rest. Kotori and Nico shuffled past her, with Kotori obviously not pleased with the arrangements.

"Oh Hanayo! Hey, sit with us!" Eli grinned, patting a seat between herself and Maki. Hanayo shyly nodded, having no reason to refuse (as Maki will be beside her).

"Koizumi-san, please tell us. What did Nozomi tell you?" Tsubasa asked, her face slightly flushed from the alcohol consumed.

"E-Eh?"

"Hanayo, don't worry. You secret is safe with us." Umi assured, pointing to the clock. "Nozomi will be outside the closet for quite a while."

"Why?"

"Oh yeah. Umi, you and Honoka are Kotori's best friends, right?" Maki suddenly changed the topic, giving Hanayo a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Duh! I've known Kotori-chan for like, forever!" Honoka slurred, hurling a piece of bread at Umi (who managed to catch it with her mouth).

"Well see, I was wondering... what does Kotori have against Nico-chan?" All of a sudden, the temperature in the living room dropped by five degrees. Hanayo was worried, was the situation really that bad?

"Yeah! Rin wanna know too!"

"Uh. W-Well, you could always go up and eavesdrop on their conversation..." Erena suggested, shooting a look towards Anju. "Anju, do what you must."

"Whaaaa? Fine... But I better get good money for this!" Anju grumbled as she made her way to where Nozomi was.

XXXXXX

"O-Oh my god... they have _that_ kind of relationship...?!" Hanayo blushed, wishing that she didn't hear what she had overheard. After Anju had successfully lured Nozomi away from the closet, Eli and Maki brought Hanayo (and an eager Rin) up to eavesdrop on Kotori's and Nico's conversation. What they heard was something... unexpected.

"R-Rin didn't know that they have s-s-s..." Rin sported an even redder blush, though not regretting the experience. "And it seems like Nico-chan is on the bo-"

"STOP! I DON'T NEED TO KNOW!" Umi hurriedly intervened before Rin could reveal anymore details of the 'conversation'.

"L-Let's just keep this kid friendly for our remaining shreds of innocence okay?" Eli hastily nodded, taking a swig of her vodka. "A-Anyways, Hanayo! What made you want to become a VA?"

"Huh?"

"Your turning point? Uh... who inspired you to be a VA?" Eli was desperate to forget what she overheard in the closet, besides they never really did a proper 'getting to know the newcomer' session.

"Oh! Hmm... I always wanted to become one after watching Nico-san's first anime... but I guess what gave me the courage to try becoming one was Darling? I was mesmerised by Tani's VA! Her famous line 'Don't lose heart, how boring' is the line that made me want to try being one!"

"Well... Seems like you have a challenger starting now?" Eli smirked, giving Maki a teasing wink. Maki groaned, ignoring Eli's wink. The other laughed, all except for Hanayo.

"D-Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh nothing, just that my heart's flame is burning for you Hanayo." Eli continued, mimicking Maki's voice.

"Oi, quit it."

"What do you mean Maki-san?" Hanayo asked, truly believing that Eli's voice was Maki's. Everyone apart from Maki laughed, even the usually reserved Umi couldn't resist letting out a soft chuckle.

"In short: I like you, so try to like me back." Maki decided that the best way to end it all was to punch Eli senseless. With that, she spent ten minutes socking Eli, with everyone in the living room except for Hanayo laughing even harder.

"What the hell is going on guys?" Nico asked, her hair dishevelled and ruby eyes looking more dazed than usual. All of a sudden, everyone stopped laughing, allowing an awkward atmosphere to sink in. "No, seriously guys. What the hell just happened?"

"N-Nothing, just a bit of drinking." Tsubasa lied, sipping her drink. "Anyways, has any of you wondered how the heck does Nozomi get our bust sizes?"

"Speaking of Nozomi-chan, where is she?" Kotori asked, her hair in a frightful mess. Her neck was covered in numerous bruises, easily outnumbering Tsubasa's and Erena's. "And speaking of which, what about Anju-chan?"

"Oh god Anju! I beg of you, just let me!" Nozomi's voice rang out from upstairs, startling everyone. "I can't hold in any longer!"

"... Okay never mind. Since it's getting late, and we're obviously tired, why don't we start by cleaning up Honoka-chan's house?" Kotori suggested, glossing over what she had just heard.

"Ehhhh? I can still go y'know." Honoka whined, hurling a plush toy at Kotori. "I have stamina! Maybe more than you Kotori-chan."

"Okay then, use your stamina to clean up your own house. I'm going to sleep." Umi countered, going into the kitchen to wash her cup. "Honoka, find a way to drag our futons down."

"What?! Aw c'mon, how do you want me to avoid the make out session above?!" Honoka complained, picking up all of the litter strewn across the living room. Thankfully for her, it wasn't much.

"Anjuuuu!"

"Oh my god, is there a mute button for them...?" Nico groaned, covering her ears as the make out session above continued.

XXXXXX

"Wow, everyone is out like a light..." Hanayo whispered to herself, observing Maki's peaceful expression. It was an hour after they had managed to drag some of Honoka's futons down to the living room without disturbing Nozomi and Anju, and by then almost everyone were tired. So tired until they couldn't care less who were they sharing the futons with due to a lack of futons at Honoka's house. "Maki-san looks so serene when she's sleeping..."

"Well without Nozomi-chan making us play, we do tend to knock out easily~" Kotori giggled, the only person (apart from Nozomi and Anju) who's still awake.

"Haha, thank you for today's party. I was afraid that it will get rowdy, but now I know that the Christmas parties held by Muse Studios is actually fun and welcoming."

"Uh... it's only like this due to our combined efforts to protect your innocence. But yeah, Christmas is all about having fun with your friends! And Nico-chan I guess." Kotori shrugged, glancing at Nico's direction. "Nico-chan isn't a bad person really. Just that what we believe in clashes a lot."

"And yet you still work well with her?" Hanayo asked, only regretting her words after seeing the look on Kotori's face. "I-I mean, forget what I just said!"

"Our working relationship is rather strained. And I won't say that we're now on good terms, but it's comfortable enough for us to spend some time together." Kotori smiled, giving Nico a light flick to the forehead. "Hey Kayo-chan, are you good at keeping secrets?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Good, because if this gets out... well, I don't think either me or Nico-chan will live this down." Kotori said, her amber eyes darting around to see if there was anyone else who was awake.

"I-I swear I won't tell anyone!" Hanayo promised, out of fear that Kotori may strangle her like what she nearly did to Honoka a while back.

"Alright, you see... I... kinda like Nico-chan. Which is surprising, since I only realised this quite recently." Kotori admitted, stealing a few glances at a sleeping Nico. "And I guess I'm aware that she's been flirting with me since day one, just that I pretended not to notice."

"Um..."

"Yeah, I know. I can't believe it either, but she's the only person I'll do that with. Just like how Nozomi-chan will only do it with Anju despite being pervy 24/7."

"I think I should go to sleep, and forget what I just heard..." Hanayo mumbled to herself, though it was audible for Kotori to hear. Kotori giggled, already expecting such a response from her.

"Yes, you should. Thanks for listening though, I hope it gives you a clearer idea of our love-hate relationship."

"H-How...?" Hanayo was shocked, how did Kotori know that she was curious about Kotori's relationship with Nico?

"Eavesdropping. Our relationship is actually a hot source of gossip recently, so might as well clarify it now."

"Uhhhh..." Hanayo could only stare blankly at Kotori, and decided that she should just sleep the shock off. Kotori smiled, going to sleep herself.

"Sheesh, one minute you hate me, next minute you are showering me with kisses. Make up your damn mind woman." The other occupant sharing the futon with Kotori grumbled, obviously unhappy with how Kotori was treating her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm feeling confused too. But I'm positive that I still hate you, and that I want to have sex with only you." Kotori apologised, kissing her neck tenderly. "You're pretty bipolar yourself too Nico-chan. One minute you're flirting with me, next thing I know, you're saying that I take too long to design stuff."

"Now hold on a damn sec Kotori, I never once said the latter! I bared my heart to you! Dammit, why did I fall for a two-faced woman?!"

"Hey now, I was never insincere to anyone. When I hated you I made sure you got the hint, when I loved you I also made sure you knew..."

"Badmouthing me behind my back prior to our heart to heart talk isn't called obvious hating."

"Okay okay, fine. But I hope you understand that while I still hate you, I also love you."

"... I understand that you need a psychiatrist." Nico sighed, turning over so that she was facing Kotori. "But really, you _knew_ I was flirting with you since you joined us?"

"Yeah, I tend to pick up hints. Just like Kayo-chan."

"And yet she couldn't see that Maki-chan's totally hitting on her like the gay ass panther she is."

"To be fair, Kayo-chan doesn't really know that she's starting to like Maki-chan..."

"Alright then! I'll give one of them their much needed kick in the pants!"

"Oh my god Nico-chan, we can't even handle our own relationship well. You're not capable of handling their pure love delicately!"

"I can, and I will! After all, I am the company's Cupid!"

"That's Nozomi-chan."

XXXXXX

Tsubasa: After looking through this _hideous_ piece of work, I can safely say that the author is no longer able to write.

Anju: Boring!

Erena: Pervert!

Tsubasa: Will you two quit it already?! Sheesh, this is why I'm not going to do this again.

Erena: By the way, how long does Nozomi need to be satisfied?

Anju: A lot. Which is why I expect some nice dough tomorrow.

Erena: ... Well it's worth it I guess... And hang on, remember what the group before us said something about hitting 4000 words?

Anju: Yeah?

Erena: Well this chapter hit over 5000... and it's nearing 6000 words...

Anju: IT'S OVER 5000!

Tsubasa: Hey hey hey! Focus! We need to address the reviews! (Plus the phrase doesn't go like that...)

EreAnju: You do it.

Tsubasa: Oh why am I stuck with these two for the A/N... Okay fine.

 **Oddo60:** Thanks for the compliment!

 **Kyarin the Tiger:** Well yes, because I simply have no creativity to come up with so many anime names... And regarding the crazy name Honoka came up with... I think you've given me an idea for my next chapter. Thank you in advance, I'll make sure to credit you.

 **FieryKataX310:** I simply added the conversation between Umi and Erena to highlight their relationship as an editor and a scriptwriter, since I feel that in real life these two jobs will clash pretty often. I didn't want to make the conversation steal part of the chapter, plus the chapter is simply to introduce Erena's role in the company. Thank you for your compliment, though the quality really depends not just time, but also the motivation to continue the stories. (Which I can tell you, I have almost zero motivation for some)

Tsubasa: By the way... was this story supposed to have KotoNico as a pairing?

Anju: Well I think it'll probably focus on that and MakiPana.

Tsubasa: Of course it has to focus on MakiPana, that's the main idea of this story!

Erena: Was Kotori supposed to end up with Nico though?

Tsubasa: Yes. It was supposed to be MakiPana, KotoNico, NozoEli, UmiRin, TsubaHono and EreAnju. Quite rare of Enya to take on three common pairings, usually she'll just settle for TsubaHono and EreAnju like in TDR...

Anju: But that was in the previous AU where we're a movie producing company right?

Tsubasa: Don't go revealing ideas! Sheesh... not only we're wasting time but I'm also playing the straight man here.

Erena: None of us are straight though.

Anju: And you're a woman. Or unless you're trans-

Tsubasa: OKAY THAT'S ALL FOR THIS CHAPTER! THANK YOU FOR READING AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

Anju: You don't need to shout...


	5. Chapter 5

Eli: Oh? It's my turn now? How does this work though?

Umi: What do you mean?

Eli: Like... How does the author choose who to be in the A/N for the respective characters?

Maki: Dunno, who cares.

Umi: Let's do this seriously though. I saw the last chapter, it started off on a wrong note...

Eli: And ended rather badly too...

Maki: Well, let's get this over with though.

EliUmi: Right!

Umi: As always, Enya doesn't own anything. And credits to Kyarin the Tiger for Honoka's crazy name for the company.

Maki: If she did own anything, we'll go out of business.

Eli: Aaaand we're off to a rocky start. *Sigh*

XXXXXX

"Tomorrow's a holiday too?!" Hanayo asked, not believing what she had just heard. It was the day after Christmas, also known as Boxing Day. She was still over at Honoka's house as they held a party yesterday, and her boss took the opportunity to inform Hanayo that the 27th was also a holiday.

"Yup! In fact, every day's a holiday!" Nozomi had a tired smile on her face, which was not a wonder to Hanayo. After all, Nozomi was up all night with Anju.

"Y-You're kidding me right Nozomi-san?!" Hanayo squeaked, sure she enjoyed some relaxation time but every day being a holiday...? _'I-I think my job is the one that needs saving now...'_

"That's right! New Year's coming up after all! So Muse Studios tend to take an extended holiday until the 9th, y'know, visiting our folks and all?" Nozomi replied, ruffling Hanayo's hair.

"O-Oh... I-I see... A-Ahahaha..." Hanayo laughed, though it was out of relief and not out of amusement.

"Nozomi, what did you tell Hanayo?" Eli asked, grumbling about how early it was. Umi was also wide awake, and was in fact making breakfast for her colleagues.

"That every day is a holiday?" Nozomi innocently repeated what she had just said back to Eli, who soon slapped her. "Ow?!"

"No wonder Hanayo looked like she was freaking out... Nozomi, you should have clarified what you meant by that sentence!" Eli sighed, going over to Hanayo. "It's okay, your job's not in jeopardy..."

"But I did?"

"People will think that every day is a holiday! As in, none of us work throughout the year?!" Nozomi blinked once. Then twice. Then thrice. Then she broke into huge laughter.

"AHAHAHA! WHO WOULD THINK THAT?!" Nozomi couldn't stop laughing, as though Eli had told a great joke. To her astonishment, ten hands raised up. The last person, Maki, was still fast asleep and didn't look like she was waking up anytime soon. "Wait, seriously?!"

"Hey I thought it was your way of telling us that we're out of a job." Umi called out from the kitchen.

"That was an utter nightmare for the three of us. Especially since we went out of a job once..." Tsubasa agreed, turning her attention to Anju. "How was it last night?"

"Really good! But Nozomi-san's voice was just too much for me, I couldn't stop~!" Anju squealed, recounting her nightly experience with Nozomi. "We ended up doing it so much until I slept at 6 am!"

"Why do you still address her so formally when you two are already at the sex part of the relationship...?" Erena asked, before asking Rin with a question of her own. "Rin, are you even aware that you toss in your sleep?"

"Nyope! Sorry though, cats need lots of space nya!" Rin grinned, going into Maki's futon. "Rin needs a cat nap..."

"Mmgh... get lost... Nico... chan..." Maki grumbled in her sleep, trying her best to push Rin's limp body away from her. "You broke... the nico... nico... scale..."

"What the heck?! Is she implying that I'm fat?!" Nico asked, about to slap Maki awake but was stopped by Hanayo. "Hanayo?!"

"M-Maki-san...? P-Please wake up... it's morning..." Hanayo gently shook Maki awake. Soon, Maki did wake up, though her half-lidded eyes was an indication that she was still sleepy.

"Nn... Get away from me... bird f-"

"M-Maki-san! I-It's morning! I-I'm Hanayo, not Nico-san!" Hanayo shook Maki's body, with a little more force.

"Was she about to say what I think she would say...?" Eli whispered to Honoka, the latter nodding nervously as she noticed Kotori's darkening expression.

"I should really inform Maki-chan that I'm not the bottom." Kotori simply said, making those who were awake wonder what was the difference.

"Huh...? Hanayo...?" Maki was now fully awake, and blushed once she realised that Hanayo was in front of her. "M-Morning."

"Good morning Maki-san! Umi-san is making us breakfast, please wait a moment okay?" Hanayo beamed, satisfied that Maki was finally awake.

"... Time...?" Maki asked, searching for the clock.

"It's 6.45 am sleepyhead!" Honoka replied, reading off the time from her clock. Maki made a face, and went back into her futon to sleep with Rin.

"M-Maki-saaaaaan!"

XXXXXX

"Why the hell am I awake so early in the damn morning...?" Maki grumbled, glaring at Eli. "Tell me why Eli."

"Because we want to have breakfast together?"

"It's only 7.15 am."

"Well, what time do you eat breakfast then?" Maki pondered for a moment, soon giving Eli her answer.

"Probably around 1.30 pm?"

"That's not breakfast anymore Maki."

"Precisely."

"That's no good Maki-san, you should eat breakfast! They are the most important meal of the day!" Hanayo interjected, having overheard Maki's and Eli's not so subtle conversation.

"I know, but I always feel so full in the mornings... What do you usually eat for breakfast Hanayo?" Maki asked, deciding that talking to Hanayo would be a much more refreshing change of pace.

"Hm? Oh I eat rice for breakfast!" Hanayo replied, drooling at the thought of her soft, fluffy white rice. _'Yum...'_

"I-I see, wouldn't that be a bit heavy on your stomach?" Maki asked, concerned over Hanayo's diet. Not that she was in any position to worry over Hanayo, but at least Maki knew that having rice for whichever meal is considered heavy.

"I think it's perfectly reasonable. At least she knows how to take care of herself unlike a certain _someone_ who only eats junk food at some odd hour of the day while gaming on a greasy controller!" Eli nodded, shooting Maki a smug grin. Maki frowned, she hated it when Eli looked like she won something. They were the competitive type after all, and Maki hated losing just as much as Eli did.

"I clean the controller after I'm done you know."

"Yes yes, whatever you say Maki."

"Don't dismiss me. At least I stock my personal fridge with food and drinks."

"Since when that's your personal fridge?!"

"Ever since I turned that room into my gaming room."

"Now hold on a sec-"

"Like I was saying, Ayase-san over here couldn't be bothered to restock the company's fridge even after taking the remaining food out from it." Maki gave Eli a smug grin, relishing the look of mortification on her boss's face.

"What?! You're the one who constantly leaves the fridge empty?!" Tsubasa asked, her right hand threatening to punch someone. "Every time... Every _damn_ time, I always meet an empty fridge because of _you_?!"

"Hey calm down now Tsubasa, there's always someone before you. That person is the one who has the unfortunate role of reminding Eli to restock, so just calm down..." Erena managed to restrain Tsubasa, offering her some tea. "Have some tea that Anju brewed."

"Oh right, did I mention that Eli is shameless enough to ask the rest to restock the fridge by leaving that note in it?" Maki added, wanting to create some chaos. It did, as Tsubasa and Erena tackled Eli to the floor. Nico, Rin and Honoka joined in, apparently also having suffered the cruel fate of having nothing to eat.

"You're horrible Maki-chan." Kotori commented, though her eyes sparkled with amusement. Nozomi chuckled softly to herself as she watched Eli crying for help.

"Hey, I'm just doing some justice to you guys." Maki shrugged, her amethyst eyes shifting to Umi. "Umiiii... Does breakfast take this long...?"

"I'm making for 12, what did you expect?!" Umi replied, tempted to hurl a cup of steaming hot tea at Maki, but resisted as Hanayo would be super worried and Umi didn't want to make Hanayo worry at all.

"I should have woken up later then..." Maki grumbled, impatiently drumming her fingers on the table top.

"Isn't it nice to chat leisurely like this though yan? By the way Hanayo-chan, how much rice do you eat in the mornings? Half a bowl? One bowl?" Nozomi asked, curious to know how much does Hanayo eat.

"Five!" Hanayo replied, shocking the rest. "W-What's wrong?"

"F-Five?! Y-You mean five grains right...?" Maki asked in disbelief. Five grains was also too extreme, but it was more plausible than five bowls of rice...

"Oh no, I meant five bowls!" Hanayo smiled, holding up her phone which had a picture of her with a large rice bowl. "The bowls in my house are customised to accommodate more rice!"

"H-How much more...?" Kotori asked, starting to wonder about Hanayo's appetite.

"Oh... I think one bowl can hold about three normal bowls of rice? Actually, eating a steaming bowl of rice on a winter morning really warms you up doesn't it? Oh but actually, I kinda like the taste of rice that has been slightly chilled by the winter air! It's like popping a mint into your mouth, they're really refreshing!" Hanayo explained, soon delving deep into a topic about rice.

"S-So... she eats about 15 bowls of rice every morning...?" Anju whispered to those who weren't busy brawling it out with Eli, save for Hanayo and Umi.

"I... I think that's what I heard." Maki nodded, stealing glimpses of Hanayo chatting away to an empty audience and Umi shuddering as she scooped out rice from a rice cooker. "Man, even Umi's traumatised..."

"S-So Kayo-chan's a rice lover huh? H-Hahaha..." Kotori laughed shakily, who could ever expect that someone with such a small frame could consume so much rice in the morning?

"I don't wanna know how much does she eat during lunch and dinner..." Nozomi nodded, nervously looking at Hanayo as though she was some sort of monster.

"Guys, breakfast is r-ready..." Umi called out, serving the breakfast to her colleagues.

"W-We'll pass!" Anju called out, nauseous at the thought of so much rice. Kotori, Maki and Nozomi nodded eagerly, and in fact scooted as far away from Hanayo as possible. It broke Maki's heart, but she really couldn't bear the thought of eating in the morning, let alone witnessing her crush devouring 15 normal sized bowls of rice.

"Us too!" Tsubasa yelled as she decided to perform a wrestling move on poor Eli. "Yah!"

"Gurk! I-I want my breakfast though..." Eli whimpered, trying her best to escape the five women who were attempting to murder her. She failed however, and was brought towards Nico who was ready to deliver a well-aimed punch. "No no no! Not Nico!"

"Eat my nico nico fist for breakfast instead!"

"Nooooo!"

"... Shall we eat then...?" Umi asked, debating whether she should get more rice for Hanayo, but decided that 11 bowls of rice was alright for Hanayo's morning.

"Oh hang on, I should get more rice first!" Hanayo said, with 11 bowls polished as though it didn't once contain anything. Umi sweated as Hanayo happily entered the kitchen, only to discover that there wasn't any rice left. "Oh dear, there's no rice left..."

"That's a relief..." Five voices sighed in relief, but went into a panic after hearing Hanayo's next line.

"Oh well, there's still some rice left over! I should cook them!"

 _'Oh my god is her stomach a black hole?!'_

XXXXXX

"That was rather peaceful, for once." Maki said as she walked home with Hanayo. Or more specifically, escorting Hanayo home before going back to hers.

"Um, Maki-san? You don't have to walk me home...?" Hanayo squeaked, grateful for the gesture but also hoping that Maki wouldn't see her messy house.

"I insist, not like I have better things to do anyway." Maki replied, nudging Hanayo. "Besides, I've always wanted to take a walk with you at least once."

"Y-You have?!" Hanayo blushed, it wasn't every day that someone other than Rin would want to walk home together. It was almost as though Hanayo was back in high school...

"Yup, I mean why not? Say, are you going back to see your family?"

"Oh um, I-I still live with them. I mean, I need to take care of them..." Hanayo was taken aback, she hoped that Maki wouldn't be turned off that she still lives with her parents. She didn't know whether it was a social taboo in Japan, but she knew it was in Western countries. _'Okay not exactly taboo but will Maki-san laugh at me?'_

"Sounds great, your parents are so damn lucky to have a filial daughter like you." Maki sighed, a wry smile on her face. "As for me, I'm not even close to being filial."

"T-That's not true! I'm sure your parents must be lucky to have a daughter like you!"

"Nah, they aren't. Oh hey, is she your mother?" Maki asked, pointing to an elderly woman. The woman was waving at Hanayo frantically, as though she was calling for help.

"Mom! I'm so glad to see you!" Hanayo ran over to hug her mother, only to be pushed away. "I-Is there something wrong?!"

"Hanayo! Your father just collapsed! What should I do?!" Hanayo's mother pointed to an unconscious man in the house, frantically shaking Hanayo afterwards. "What should we do?!"

"Call an ambulance Hanayo, your father is suffering from a cardiac arrest!" Maki ordered, running over to Hanayo's father and swiftly administered CPR.

"O-Okay!" Hanayo immediately dialled for an ambulance, with one arriving almost immediately. As the paramedics brought him into the ambulance, Hanayo followed the paramedics so that a family member was present. "Maki-san! Please make sure that mom is okay!"

"Uh... sure?" Maki agreed as the ambulance left, leaving Maki to wonder why didn't Hanayo's mother follow them. "So... Koizumi-san? I'm Hanayo's colleague... and uh may I ask why didn't you follow them?"

"I get motion sickness really easily!" She sobbed into Maki's shoulder, instantly making it wet. "Will my husband be okay?!"

"Y-Yeah. He'll be okay..." Maki reassured, patting her on the back. "W-Why don't we go over to the hospital now? They'll definitely take him to Nishikino Hospital, since it's close by."

"You're so kind! I'm so glad my Hanayo has someone other than Rin!"

"U-Uh huh, yeah..."

XXXXXX

"Thank you for accompanying my mother here." Hanayo thanked Maki for her generosity, making Maki blush a little. "How did you know my dad will be at this one though?"

"This is the nearest hospital. Anyways, I gotta run. I... don't want to be seen here." Maki waved a quick goodbye, then sprinted off.

"Hey Hanayo, what are you doing here?" Nico asked, striding over to Hanayo. "Don't tell me you ruined your voice or something."

"N-Not at all Nico-san! My dad just got admitted into the hospital, what about you?"

"Oh, my mom's in hospital. Bills are freaking expensive y'know, so I was haggling with the docs for a discount." Nico shrugged, holding up a long bill.

"I didn't know you can get discounts at hospitals."

"You can't actually, my mom's been cooped up for six years now. And no, she's not in a coma. She overworked herself in the past, and her body's got a long way to get patched up." Nico replied, taking out her handphone to type something.

"Nico-san, isn't phones banned in hospitals?"

"This is the handphone okay zone. We can use 'em here. By the way, did Nozoboobs tell you the deets about the New Year party?" Nico asked, gauging Hanayo's reaction. Upon seeing Hanayo's eyes blink in confusion, Nico knew that she had her answer. "I'll take that you haven't seen the group yet. Go check it out, she just texted 'em."

"U-Uh okay...?" Hanayo took out her phone, and scrolled through the messages.

 _Spiritualyan: [okay guys, 11pm on 31/12 outside the shrine]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Alright, by the way, will you be on shrine duty?]_

 _Kirakira: [Not this year, Nozomi said that the shrine has enough help.]_

 _Honkersnbread: [ooh we shld wear kimonos this yr!]_

 _Nyanyanya: [ehhhh i dun have one tho...]_

 _Eli Ayase: [I think Nico has one in your size.]_

 _Niconiconii: [dude stop insulting me]_

 _Eli Ayase: [I'm not insulting you.]_

 _Yukihime: [My, stop flirting you two~]_

 _Erena Todo: [Anju, stop it. Kotori will get mad you know.]_

 _Minamibirdie: [No i won't ^8^]_

 _Ricericepana: [I'm sorry to ask this, but who is who? I haven't saved all of your numbers except for Rin-chan and Maki-san.]_

 _Niconiconii: [im beside u hanayo]_

 _Eli Ayase: [I'm Eli. And why are you beside Hanayo?]_

 _Niconiconii: [we just happened 2 see each other at the hospital duh]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Don't 'duh' us, we won't know that. Oh and I'm Umi.]_

 _Kirakira: [Tsubasa here.]_

 _Honkersnbread: [honokas me]_

 _Spiritualyan: [i'm Anju!]_

 _Yukihime: [No you're not! I'm the real Anju. Spiritualyan is Nozomi.]_

 _Erena Todo: [Isn't our nicknames reflected in your phone though?]_

 _Ricericepana: [It is... but I just wanted to make sure, since in middle school all my friends switched their nicknames and messed up my contacts.]_

 _Nyanyanya: [oh i remember that one]_

 _Minamibirdie: [So still need my name?]_

 _Niconiconii: [i already told her, btw wheres makichan]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Muting the group. And nico-chan, why did you change my name?]_

 _Niconiconii: [thot itll be funny]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Guys, are we all up for the kimono thing on New Year's Eve?]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [... Can i pass...?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [if u have a valid reason which u don't, sure]_

 _Kirakira: [Plus, Koizumi-san will be in a kimono too~]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Okay i'm going, bye]_

"Wow, Maki-chan sure has her eye on you Hanayo." Nico grinned, nudging Hanayo. Hanayo blushed, but wondered whether it'll be alright to leave her father while she went out to enjoy with her colleagues.

"I-I think I should really ask my mother about it..."

"Worried about your dad huh? Welp, make sure you show up though. It's hard convincing Maki-chan to go, since she's such a shut-in." Nico walked off, but not before shooting Hanayo a suggestive grin. Hanayo awkwardly waved Nico off, embarrassed that Nico thinks that she was going to do the deed with Maki on that night.

 _'N-Never mind Nico-san, I should go up and ask...'_

XXXXXX

"Thanks Kayo-chin!" Rin beamed as she twirled around in her kimono. "By the way, how's your dad nya?"

"He's fine, thanks to Maki-san. Without her help, he may be in critical condition right now." Hanayo replied, staring at her phone. "I'm worried though..."

"Your mom told you to have fun with us though, so be happy nya!" Rin lightly slapped Hanayo, dragging her out of her house. "Besides, she's with him. And at Maki-chan's family hospital to boot! Maki-chan won't let your dad down nya!"

"I hope that's the c- wait, Maki-san's family hospital?!" Hanayo was in shock, she didn't know that Maki's family owned a hospital. _'The Nishikino Hospital is one of Japan's most famous hospitals thanks to its quality healthcare! How come I didn't know that Maki-chan is related to it...?'_

"Well duh, Rin thought that you knew, since Maki-chan's hanging around you and all nya."

"I-I... uh..." Hanayo was about to continue her sentence, but was interrupted by someone.

"Oh Hanayo, I was about to pick you up." Maki said, elegantly walking in a scarlet kimono with white floral patterns. "Turns out you have Rin. That isn't Nico-chan's kimono right?"

"N-No way nya! Kayo-chin bought one for me!" Rin protested, nearly tripping as she wasn't used to moving in tight kimonos. "Rin chose the design of course!"

"Uh... I thought you hated fish." Maki pointed out, referring to the white fish bone pattern on the lime green kimono Rin was wearing.

"Rin doesn't hate fish bones nya. C'mon, let's get going!" Rin said, eagerly walking ahead. Maki decided to walk beside Hanayo, who was wearing a yellow kimono with stars on it.

"Frankly speaking, I expected Rin to be wearing what you're wearing right now. But they suit you too, possibly more so than Rin herself." Maki commented, making Hanayo blush in embarrassment.

"O-Oh uh, thank you. You look really pretty today." Hanayo replied, turning her head away from Maki so that she wouldn't see her reddening face. "Say um, c-can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, shoot."

"H-How come you never told me that your family owns a hospital?" Hanayo asked, realising that her words probably sounded too possessive. "I-I meant that-"

"That's because I didn't want you to know. I guess Rin told you somehow, or you realised it when your father's in the hospital. Speaking of which, how is he?" Maki asked, concerned for his well-being.

"He's fine. Why didn't you want me to know though?"

"Hmm... In episode six of the anime we're working on, I said that I didn't want you to know about my heritage as she's actually from a yakuza family..."

"The Nishikino family is a yakuza family?!"

"No! Okay screw it, using that anime is a terrible idea." Maki sighed, deciding that she would tell Hanayo about her family after they reached the shrine. "I'll tell you later though, I promise."

"Okay then, I trust you!" Hanayo smiled, easily believing Maki.

"Great, we're almost there." Maki pointed to a group of women, with one of them standing out with her revealing kimono. "Aaaand we have Nozomi the flasher. Hanayo, cover your eyes."

"O-Okay?"

XXXXXX

"Took you guys long enough." Nico grumbled, covering Nozomi's chest with her hand. "We managed to hold three different topics while waiting for you."

"What three?" Maki asked, her hand covering Hanayo's eyes just in case.

"First one, our lives before joining Muse Studios. Second, how childish Rin's kimono was."

"The last one?"

"The current topic, how Muse Studio got its name."

"I was wondering how did it get its name!" Hanayo burst out, gently pushing away Maki's hand. "It's so unique, and it makes me feel involved for some reason!"

"Uh... Well we went through a heck lot in order to reach Muse Studios..." Nico sighed, shooting Eli a look. "You should ask Eli though, she can tell you more."

"Why me?! You can also tell Hanayo about our journey." Eli questioned, soon relenting. "Well fine, so shall we start from the beginning?"

"Sure!" Hanayo's lavender eyes were practically dazzling, blinding Maki momentarily.

"Okay so when it first started, it was just me, Nico and Nozomi. We didn't had a name back then, so we called ourselves Toyawa Studios." Eli started, a wistful look on her face. "It was pretty hard back then, the anime industry is already so saturated, Nozomi and I nearly considered to simply give up."

"What about Nico-san?" Hanayo asked, eager to hear more about how the company got its name and possibly more about its history.

"She was the one who told us not to give up then, even going as far as to beat me up... Anyways, our main concern was the funding so we had to work on low cost material."

"Nico-chan was a talented person, so naturally she did the script and the animations. Makes me wonder how useful you two really are." Maki added, averting her eyes away from Eli's after being shot a dirty look.

"Yes, like what she said, Nico was talented. We decided to lessen her load five months after getting my sorry self beaten up. As such, I took on the role as a VA. The first session went really bad, and I got myself yelled at by Nico for the second time that year."

"That was freaking payback for all of the times you yelled at me for being late!" Nico yelled as she fixed Nozomi's kimono, sighing in relief after ensuring that she didn't reveal her voluptuous chest.

"And we were from the same high school, so yeah. Anyways, we produced three animes and Toyawa Studios was financially stable. Nozomi decided that it was best to hire an actual scriptwriter so that Nico doesn't burn herself out eventually."

"Hang on, you still haven't told Hanayo why did you three call it Toyawa Studios." Maki stopped Eli, yawning in the process. "Sorry, not a morning person here."

"It's close to midnight Maki."

"Shut it."

"Geez... We used parts of our surnames to form the name. 'To' from Tojo, 'Ya' from Ayase and 'Wa' from Yazawa. It was to represent us, but we decided to change it after hiring Umi."

"And I insisted to leave it the way it was." Umi spoke up, taking over Eli's explanation. "After they hired me, I asked whether they needed more graphic artists or VAs. Nozomi said they do, but the studio didn't have enough money to pay for their wages. In fact, I worked on a 10000 yen wage for three years."

"Sorry that you have to go through that Umi." Eli apologised. Umi shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind. "It was amazing how much we earnt within a year, and four years after we started as Toyawa Studios, I decided to hire Kotori and Honoka."

"I recommended them to Eli, Kotori's background in arts really helped her resume a lot. As for Honoka... well uh..." Umi stopped, glancing in Honoka's direction before turning back to Hanayo and Maki. "Well... I kind of told Eli that she's willing to work for bread. So yeah, every month the company will supply six 500 yen bread as Honoka's pay."

"That's freaking hilarious!" Maki laughed, getting some attention from the passer-bys. "S-Sorry, go on."

"Two months after hiring her, Honoka outright told Nozomi that she hated our studio name." Eli continued, sighing at Honoka's lack of tact then. "She complained that it was boring, and that it didn't included her, Kotori or you Umi."

"I remember, I had such a hard time restraining her afterwards. Thank god Nozomi agreed with her and make the situation easier to resolve."

"I should thank god that Nico shot down Honoka's suggestion just as quickly as Nozomi agreed to change the name." Eli chuckled along with Umi, piquing Hanayo's interest.

"W-What was Honoka's suggestion?"

"Muse-ertainment Studios. Nico felt that it was too long, and people would soon forget about us." Hanayo nodded, agreeing with her idol completely.

"Nico-san's right, that's a long name. It isn't catchy too, so I can understand her concerns. But doesn't it take a lot of money to change the studio name?"

"Well... it did actually. So we doubled our production rate, and came up with Unknown Heartbeat and Future Style. Nozomi and I wanted to give Nico the title of lead graphic artist, but she turned it down."

"That's unexpected, knowing that she's so arrogant and a major showoff." Maki scoffed, though her actions were more careful after nearly embarrassing herself in public.

"Exactly what we thought, but she told us that she wanted to help out more in writing the scripts and voice-acting. So we gave the role to Kotori, and that was when we found about their... dangerous relationship."

"Also how Honoka and I found out about Kotori's rumoured dark side."

"Back to topic, eventually Nozomi decided to settle with Muse Studios as in Greek mythology, there are nine goddesses." Eli ended, remembering A-RISE Animations. "Oh and we didn't think Tsubasa, Erena and Anju as one of the nine 'goddesses'."

"Nozomi wanted the nine to actually join Muse Studios as their first company, and you are the ninth one Hanayo." Umi continued, ruffling her brown hair.

"Elichi! It's about time we go up the stairs!" Nozomi called out, already half way there with the rest.

"W-Wait up!" Eli and Umi ran as fast as they could in their kimonos, while Maki and Hanayo slowly made their way up together. Upon reaching the top, Hanayo lightly tugged on Maki's sleeve.

"M-Maki-san, do you know the order that the rest joined?" Maki blinked, casually brushing Hanayo's question aside.

"I think that's a question for Nozomi. Plus, I've always wanted to see if she really paid attention to us as she always claimed."

 _'Why does it feel like Maki-san wants to avoid talking about the history of Muse Studios...?'_ Hanayo wondered to herself as she walked along with Maki, gathering more questions than she had.

XXXXXX

"N-Nozomi-san?" Hanayo lightly tugged on Nozomi's sleeve, as she didn't want to witness a wardrobe malfunction. Nozomi turned to face Hanayo with her usual friendly smile, her turquoise eyes filled with curiosity.

"Hm? Ah, what is it Hanayo-chan?" Nozomi asked, a teasing smile on her face as she started to tease Hanayo. "Do you want to ask me for some sex tips?"

"W-What?! N-No! I wanted to ask you about the order when all twelve of us joined!" Hanayo fought back a blush, failing to hide it completely. Nozomi howled in laughter as she watched Hanayo failing so cutely, which earnt her a death warrant from Maki.

"That was so cute~ Anyways, the order eh? Hmm... Me, Nicocchi and Elichi started the company ten years ago, Umi-chan joined eight years ago, Kotori-chan and Honoka-chan joined six years ago, Maki-chan officially joined half a year after Kotori-chan and Honoka-chan joined, A-RISE joined us three years ago, Rin-chan two and Hanayo-chan a few months ago!"

"W-Wow, so most of you are seasoned- wait, what do you mean by Maki-san 'officially' joining?" Hanayo asked, pointing out the strangest part of the answer.

"Oh that? Well, ask Maki-chan! She's the one who has the right to tell you, not little ol' me. Toodles!" Nozomi left, going to hug Anju from behind. Hanayo was searching for Maki, but was instead searched by Maki.

"Hey. I believe I have an explanation to tell you?" Maki faintly smiled, bringing Hanayo to a more secluded part of the shrine. "So I guess you heard from Nozomi about what you wanted to know?"

"Yeah, but what did she mean by officially?" Hanayo questioned, making Maki sigh as her trembling hand grasped Hanayo's steady hand. "Maki-san...? Why are you trembling?"

"Seven years ago, a girl ran away from her wealthy family. That girl was given whatever she wanted, the chance to pursue music, endless supply of tomatoes, anything. It came with a price however, she was restricted from having a healthy social life and that she was to take over her family hospital once she's of age. To do so, she had to study medicine when she went for college. However, the girl failed to realise her scripted fate, and stubbornly tried to go against her parents for what she wanted was to study music. Her parents said no, and decided to cut off her life supply in hopes of changing her mind." Maki said, as though she was narrating a story. It brought Hanayo in, as she listened attentively and asked at the appropriate parts of the story.

"What happened to the girl?" Hanayo asked, feeling sorry for the girl who was born into a life where she cannot control.

"She ran away after her parents cut off her life supply. She was weak however, for she didn't know what she could do to survive on her remaining life supply. She eventually turned her passion into a lifebuoy, and survived on busking alone for half a year. One fateful day, a dancer and her troupe chanced upon the girl singing. They offered her a place in their troupe, but the girl was sceptical. The troupe wasn't doing financially well, and thus the girl rejected. They were relentless of course, and promised her that she could join them anytime she wished."

"She eventually joined right?"

"Yup, but let's hear how she joined them. Anyways, time passed and a year went by. The girl was forced to stop busking as her parents found her, and tried to persuade her to come back. She was offered her life back, a comfortable life that many would want. But no, the girl rejected the offer and ran away. Her legs took her to the troupe she had met a year back, and it wasn't doing well still. The troupe's talented panda noticed the girl, and kicked her into the troupe's tent. There she met a bear who lost everything in a desperate gambling attempt and a bird who had to endure her parents' divorce. After that, she was introduced to an archer who faced the same problem as her, who told her that the troupe helped her tremendously. The girl was then introduced to a psychic, the dancer and the talented panda, each with their own problems. She discovered that despite their life supplies running dangerously low, they were still able to survive and even have fun. That was the girl's turning point and she decided to join the troupe only to discover that the dancer had already hired her a year before, for she was confident that their paths will meet one day." Maki ended, smiling sadly. "And that comes to the end of Maki Nishikino's life story."

"Y-You went through a lot... and you're so young then..." Hanayo sobbed into Maki's kimono, the latter not minding it much. "Is that why you left the hospital as early as you could?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to risk seeing my parents. I don't like talking about it, since I practically abandoned everything to be here." Maki replied, trying her best to console Hanayo. "Don't cry now, you wouldn't want the new year to start of like that."

"B-But Maki-san!"

"Don't worry about me, the future is more important after all." Maki held up a handkerchief, and dabbed Hanayo's tears away. "Come on, don't cry now."

"Y-You're so resilient... I don't think I could survive if I ran away from my parents..."

"I sincerely hope that day never comes, you have such a good relationship with them after all. I'm jealous." Maki admitted, bringing Hanayo into a loose hug. "Hey Hanayo, can you be more informal with me? I don't like how you see me as a colleague, I want to be on the same level as Rin."

"M-Maki-chan? L-Like that?" Hanayo asked, looking up into Maki's amethyst eyes. A faint hue of red was on Maki's face for a good five minutes, before she diverted Hanayo's attention to the fireworks in the sky.

"Look Hanayo, New Year fireworks." The dark sky was lit with colourful fireworks, a sight that made Hanayo cheer up significantly. "Happy New Year Hanayo."

"Happy New Year too Maki-chan. I hope we'll have a good year recording the anime..."

"Hanayo, you're not supposed to say out your wish!"

"I-I wasn't! That wasn't my New Year's wish!"

"Really now~?" Maki grinned, lightly flicking Hanayo's forehead. "Better not curse us now!"

"M-Maki-chan! W-What's your wish though?"

"Hmm... Probably the same as yours~"

"L-Like I said, that wasn't my actual wish!"

"Look at those two over there, seems like they've entered a new level of their relationship." Kotori commented, watching Maki and Hanayo chase each other in the huge crowd as though they were children.

"Sure did, told you I was Cupid." Nico nodded, grinning as Hanayo squeezed through the crowd while she's chasing Maki.

"That's Nozomi-chan, though I guess you did had a part to play this time..." Kotori admitted, turning to face Eli on her left. "What do you think their wishes really are though?"

"Who knows, though I wonder why Maki decided to join us after visiting us that day..." Eli shrugged, while Nozomi giggled at the comical sight.

"Hanayo, where are you~?" Maki called out, very aware of the outstretched hand among the crowd. Maki smiled, praying that her wish will come true once more before entering the crowd to save Hanayo.

 _'I hope that I'll get to know Hanayo/Maki-chan more this year...'_

XXXXXX

Maki: What the hell was that last bit at the end?

Umi: Ignore that part. Anyways, we've survived the A/N. Seems like we're able to survive if paired up with the right people.

Eli: That's true. Though I bet the author doesn't like how the chapter turned out.

Maki: What, her stupid rule?

Eli: Well yes, and that there's a huge chunk of words when you're narrating your story to Hanayo.

Umi: Oh yeah, she did mentioned to us that she hated writing huge blocks of words. She finds that a turnoff in the stories of other authors and wishes not to incite the same feeling in her (limited) readers.

Maki: Did Umi just insult the author...?

Eli: No, cause technically Enya's typing our dialogue.

Maki: You should take Tsubasa's advice and stop breaking fourth walls.

Eli: Sorry, sorry. Anyways, isn't this story supposed to be how Hanayo interacts with Maki as a VA?

Maki: Who the hell cares. Like, you seriously expect this idiot of an author to _actually_ come up with a solid script for some fictional anime?

Eli: ... (I actually did...)

Umi: Well, if a certain someone didn't wasted her time playing Dragonball Xenoverse...

Eli: Umi, you seem out of character today.

Maki: Whatever, thanks for reading this story and we're done.


	6. Chapter 6

Honoka: Hey guys! It's already Chapter 6 of the story, how are you all doing?

Nico: Uh, tired?

Rin: Nyagreed. And Enya-chan has to do all her homework by 9th January nya!

Honoka: It's already the end of January though. She sure sucks at keeping her priorities checked...

Nico: So do you Honoka. Anyways, what's this chapter gonna be about? It better not be on me, as much as I love the spotlight...

Rin: Nyaaa... Oh well, Rin has to go visit my family! See ya! *Leaves*

Nico: And I have to pay a visit to my mom. I don't want her to feel lonely, so you're on your own Honoka. *Leaves*

Honoka: Whaaaaat? I have to leave too... Okay well, Enya-chan doesn't own anything! Shoot, it's this late?! The train's not gonna wait for me! *Runs off*

XXXXXX

"It sure is quiet..." Hanayo murmured to herself as she made her way to the recording room. Even though it was still a holiday, Hanayo decided that it was for the best if she did some of her recordings. Needless to say, the hallways were empty due to the lack of staff present.

"Yeah, perfect for gaming the day away." Maki commented, appearing behind Hanayo. Hanayo flinched, taking a leap backwards after she overcame her shock. "Did I scare you?"

"A-A little... What brings you here Maki-chan?" Hanayo asked, surprised that of all people, Maki would actually come back to the studio. "And if I may ask, what's in that plastic bag you're holding?"

"Huh? Oh right, I didn't tell you on New Year's... Actually, I live here." Maki responded, holding up the plastic bag. "And the bag contains all of my supplies. Heck, I just went out to restock 'em."

"Y-You what...?" Hanayo was shocked, even though she knew about Maki's past, she didn't expect Maki to _live_ in the studio.

"Specifically the gaming room, which is why Eli hasn't done anything to that place despite complaining about it so damn much." Maki clarified, noticing the horrified look on Hanayo's face. "I don't go sneaking around to places other than the gaming room, that's strictly meant for work. And hey, the gaming room is actually connected to a bathroom. It has a toilet too, so it's like a one-room apartment!"

"I-I kinda thought you have a house to live in after you got paid..."

"Eh? Oh that, apartments are pricey as hell. And I don't wanna bother the rest by crashing in, so I got permission from Nozomi to live in an unused room within this building." Maki shrugged, heading towards the recording room. "But since you're here, why don't we finish up episode nine's recording?"

"O-Oh okay! But will it be alright, without Tsubasa-san overseeing us?"

"Why not, after all Maki _is_ a seasoned VA." Hanayo turned around, coming face to face with Tsubasa. "Good morning Koizumi-san, you sure are earnest. Oh, and I meant it in a good way of course."

"What are you doing here? We have the week off." Maki asked, raising an eyebrow as Tsubasa held up a plastic bag. "I assume that bag contains food?"

"Yup. To be honest, I came back to retrieve a book I want to read over the holidays. But since you two are here, I figured I could afford to do some work."

"That makes three of us then!" Kotori said, approaching the trio. "I came back to rush through the sketches. Kayo-chan is so hardworking!"

"E-Ehehehe..." Hanayo laughed awkwardly, apart from Maki, she wasn't entirely familiar with Kotori or Tsubasa. Kotori was okay, after the discovering the truth on Christmas. Tsubasa on the other hand, Hanayo had little opportunities to talk to her on a personal level. Most of the conversations shared were only work-related after all.

"Hm? Nico's not with you?" Tsubasa asked, her voice wavering between teasing and surprise. If Kotori was affected by the question, she didn't show it on her face. Tsubasa seemed to get the hint, and decided not to say anything else.

"Tsubasa-chan, please do not assume that I am bound to be with her 24/7." Kotori's voice was surprisingly not cold, but more of a warning. "And to answer your question, she is at the hospital visiting her mother."

"Well since you didn't lash out at Tsubasa over here, I guess it means that you're starting to get comfy around her." Maki commented, putting an arm around Hanayo. "If you would excuse us, we have a recording session to attend."

"Right, I nearly forgot. You two are slated for a talk about the anime, it's on the 16th." Tsubasa snapped her fingers, a smile on her face as she shot Maki and Hanayo an apologetic grin.

"Yeah sure, whatever. Hanayo, let's go." Maki shrugged, heading towards the recording room with Hanayo in tow. Hanayo let out a small squeak but followed Maki nonetheless.

"Those two are so gay for each other."

"You got that right Kotori."

XXXXXX

"Okay, let's start from the part where you ask Nikagura about the yakuza thing." Maki said, flipping her script to the desired page. "You ready?"

"Yup!" Hanayo smiled brightly, ready to start her lines. Once she started however, they were met with a screeching sound. "W-What was that?"

"Damn it, I bet it's the mics again. Hey Tsubasa!" Maki called out for Tsubasa, who mysteriously appeared behind them. "Gah!"

"What is it Maki?"

"The mics are broken again. And stop sneaking up on people, you're not Nozomi." Maki sighed, ushering Hanayo out of the room. "The two of us will be in the gaming room, give us a call when you're done fixing it."

"A-Are you sure it's the microphones?" Hanayo asked, staring at the devices intensely. They didn't look like they're broken, what made Maki so sure it was the case?

"Yeah, it happened in Beat in Angel. Rin was sent reeling if I remember it right." Maki explained, sighing at the thought. "That was something I rather not remember, so much time wasted on that day."

"You wasted even more time in your room that day too." Tsubasa commented, picking up the devices. "Anyways, I'll send them for repairs. Nozomi should be able to cover the costs... meanwhile, please don't cause _too_ much trouble."

"Sure sure, whatever you say." The two of them left the room, leaving Tsubasa to her own devices. A bad move on their part, for the next ten minutes Tsubasa was trying to untangle herself from the wires she tripped on as she made her way out.

"Ow! Oh man, not again..." Tsubasa groaned as she unsuccessfully tried to untangle herself from the pesky wires, causing her to be even more... tangled. "Damn it."

XXXXXX

"Okay so you got your basics down, now we should start on the advanced moves." Maki said, holding her game controller tightly. Hanayo followed suit, her lavender eyes glued onto the brightly lit screen. "Koizumi is a tricky character to manage, you need to time her own attacks and her puppet's."

"Um, what happens if I miss?"

"Then you'll die easily." Maki replied, switching the controllers with Hanayo. "I'll teach you how to defend yourself first, that way if you miss all of the timings to land a critical you can at least minimise your own damage."

"O-Oh, thank you Maki-chan." Hanayo softly said, a faint smile gracing her lips. Maki blushed furiously before returning her gaze to the screen.

"Sure, anyways hold the square button when you're idle. The puppet will be your literal shield. When an enemy lands an attack on your puppet shield, it'll knock 'em off balance for two seconds. Quickly press the X button to deal a quick attack, you'll drain a bit of their health."

"What about the triangle and O buttons?"

"Medium and heavy attacks respectively. Hold the L button to charge magic and hold R to deal a magic special. I wouldn't recommend those two for new Koizumi users, she's hard to handle, plus her magic is more towards healing herself."

"I see... Then, who's suitable for magic-based attacks?"

"Ayase, Tojo, Minami and Yazawa. Especially Ayase and Minami, those two pack a punch with their magic specials. Ah right, you can hold R and one of the three attack buttons at the same time to deal PM attacks."

"P-PM?"

"Physical magic attacks, it's a shortened term. They're like physical attacks, but with some magic infused into them, making them more powerful."

"Oh... then can I use PM attacks with Koizumi?"

"No way, your magic special is to heal yourself. Use it in a pinch though, your special heals a lot of health. When I say a lot, I mean a _lot_." Hanayo blinked in confusion, her impression of playing games was just for leisure purposes. With Maki however, it seemed more than just a hobby... not that Hanayo was complaining of course.

"U-Um, can I ask you a different question?"

"Hm? Oh sure, shoot." Maki hummed, idly moving Koizumi around.

"Why did you say that Beat in Angel was your debut when Nozomi-san said that you joined half a year after Kotori-san and Honoka-san?"

"Oh, I wasn't clear then huh?" Maki sighed, turning her attention to Hanayo instead. "I meant my debut as someone who have changed. Well, at least _I_ think I have changed. My first anime was Soldier Game, then Darling, and then Beat in-"

"Hang on, _you're_ Tani's VA?!" Hanayo asked, gaping in shock. Maki raised an eyebrow in surprise, as though she expected more from Hanayo.

"Well yeah, I thought you knew. Eli was mimicking me remember? You even turned to face me during the party, so I thought that you knew it was me..."

"I always thought it was Eli-san who voiced that anime. And I kinda thought that _you_ mimicked Tani's lines..."

"Uh..." An unsettling atmosphere of silence descended upon them, but was swiftly dispelled by a ringtone. "Oh, that's mine. Hello?"

 _"Hey Maki, I hope you're not gaming your day away."_ Umi's voice came through, making Maki grumble in annoyance. _"Don't grumble, isn't Hanayo in the studio? Go and record with her, better than playing games the whole day..."_

"Yes she is, yes we wanted to record, but the mics screwed up again. Tsubasa's tangled up right now, so we have at least two hours to kill?" Maki replied, a smirk on her face as she ignored the crashing sounds coming from the recording room.

 _"... You've got to be kidding me... Didn't Eli replace them two months ago?"_

"Screeching sounds, can't record jackshit."

 _"You should stop learning swear words from Nico. Apart from you, Hanayo and Tsubasa, is there anyone else in the studio?"_

"Huh? Oh Kotori's here too, said something 'bout sketches. Why, you wanna talk with her?"

 _"Not at all, I'm just curious. Well, if that's all then I shall be hanging up. Do go easy on Hanayo, not everyone is good at games like you and Nico."_

"Yeah sure, see ya." Maki then hung up, going back to face Hanayo. "That's Umi, checking up on me like the mom she is."

"I-I figured..." Hanayo nodded, unsure if she should continue the conversation or let Maki continue teaching her about the game. Maki sensed Hanayo's thoughts, and decided to continue their previous conversation.

"I'm actually a little happy that you didn't know I'm Tani's VA. Guess that means I have more stuff to share with you right?" Maki's amethyst eyes flashed with mischief, a rare sight to see. Even the teasing grin tugging at her lips was a rare sight to behold, and Hanayo was one of the lucky few to witness such...

"You look beautiful when you smile like that..." Hanayo breathed, wondering whether she should be allowed to spend even one second with Maki. All of her emotions that she felt during their first meeting suddenly came back to her, making Hanayo uneasy and possibly a little love-struck.

"That's what everyone says, but hearing that from you... it makes me really happy." Maki flushed a little, subconsciously twirling her hair. The duo simply blushed in silence, unaware of a presence outside the gaming room. Or to be more precise, a mobile presence.

"I can't believe you got yourself all tangled up again." Kotori sighed as she tried her best to untangle Tsubasa from the wires. Tsubasa chuckled sheepishly and did her best to free herself, making the situation worse. "Tsubasa-chan... please just stop moving already."

"Sorry."

XXXXXX

"Okay let's start with the mock battles. You'll take Koizumi, and I'll take Ayase." Maki instructed, handing the second controller to Hanayo. "What I want you do do is to lower my health using the method I taught you just now."

"Y-You mean the block-slash method?" Hanayo asked, her mind in a whirl after forcing herself to memorise all the gaming jargon Maki had said.

"Yup, that one. Make sure you watch Ayase's attacks though, her speed when it comes to magic attacks is damn high. Like seriously high."

"U-Um okay...?" Hanayo gritted her teeth as she waited for the loading screen to pass. "Say... where do you manage to get all of these equipment from?"

"Hm? Bought them in Akiba, why?" Maki said, her fingers hovering above the R and X buttons.

"No I mean... where did you get the money for them if your parents... uh... cut you off...?" Hanayo's last words came out like a whisper, after all it was a sore topic for Maki to talk about.

"I spent all of my pay on food, water and game consoles. Thank god Nozomi is paying for my electricity and water bills, don't know how much I've used for the past few years." Maki shrugged, a smile on her face as the loading screen passed. "Finally."

"I-I hope I'll make it through one round..."

"... It's not like I'm going to actually kill you..." Maki sighed, debating whether she should go easy on Hanayo. _'Know what, I'll just thrash her for real this time.'_

"Ah, you two were in here after all yan?" Nozomi's head poked into the gaming room, a smirk on her face as Maki shot her a glare. "Oh sorry, am I interrupting your nerdy date?"

"Well, _yeah_. Bonding over games is important!" Maki shot back, pausing a second later to reflect her words. "... Did I just say that I'm on a date with Hanayo?"

"You totally did." Nozomi smirked, grinning at Hanayo. "Seems like she did an Error 606."

"What?!" Maki turned to face Hanayo, who passed out with a huge blush plastered on her face. "H-Hanayo?!"

"D-Date..." Hanayo whimpered, her eyes turning into swirls.

"H-Hanayo! Stay with me!"

It's the holy rice goddess... wait for me..."

"Hanayooooo!"

XXXXXX

"And that's what happened when you passed out." Maki ended, a grim look on her face. "Yeah."

"I... actually said that...? Oh my riceballs!" Hanayo immediately covered her heavily blushing face with her hands, her lavender eyes peeking out from the gaps that her slender fingers didn't manage to cover. "P-Please forget that... I'll offer you 10000 yen to forget that..."

"I-I don't remember anything at all. Yup, whatever that came out of my mouth is what Nozomi told me. I totally don't remember a damn thing." Maki lied, wanting to make Hanayo feel better. _'Like I'll ever forget that, you're just too cute for me to forget your mumbling...'_

"R-Really...?" Hanayo sniffed, hesitantly lowering her hands. Maki nodded eagerly, smiling tenderly to assure Hanayo what was said was the truth. "That's great..."

"What's great?" Maki asked, her tender smile starting to wane. _'I hate smiling, but for Hanayo I'll keep it up for her.'_

"N-Nothing at all! A-Anyways, what about the microphones? Are they fixed yet?" Hanayo asked, remembering her main objective that day.

"Ahhh that. Well, Nozomi said that there was a major fault in those things, so we can't record the episode for a week. Meanwhile, she told me to go hole myself up in the gaming room. Technically that's my room so meh." Maki shrugged, staring at the door intensely.

"U-Um, are you waiting for someone? Oh and where are the rest, did they leave already?" Hanayo asked, searching for a clock. "W-What time is it?"

"6.46 pm, we're in the resting room, Tsubasa and Nozomi left, and I'm waiting for Kotori to arrive." Maki replied, glancing at her phone screen. "I asked Kotori to bring you a towel, did I mention that you're actually burning up?"

"E-Eh? No?"

"Well now you know. Honestly I wish that I can let you sleep here but Nozomi doesn't feel at ease letting you sleep by yourself, so Kotori and I will be leading you back to my room." Maki sighed, twirling her scarlet hair out of boredom. Right on cue, Kotori entered the room with a pastel yellow towel held securely in her her left hand.

"Ah Kayo-chan! You're awake, how do you feel?" Kotori asked, carefully draping the towel on Hanayo's neck. "Maki-chan, I've prepared the water basin in the gaming room. You know what to do right?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm still the daughter of a long line of doctors after all. Help me carry Hanayo back to my room, I'm worried that she may suddenly collapse." Maki responded, placing Hanayo's right arm on her shoulder.

"Sure, it's the least I could do for Kayo-chan!" Kotori nodded, and placed Hanayo's left arm on her shoulder. Hanayo was soon brought back to the gaming room, where a futon was already laid out and a water basin containing ice water was placed on a folding stool.

"Thanks Kotori, enjoy your night out with Nico-chan." Maki bowed, gently placing Hanayo on the futon. Kotori smiled wryly, a low chuckle escaping from her lips.

"The night will end in an argument. I would think that we'll argue passionately on who's fashion sense is better once again." Maki sighed, shaking her head in mock irritation.

"You really need to learn when to give in to that gremlin."

"I think that gremlin should just suck it up and agree that Eli-chan's fashion sense is better than hers." A faint buzzing sound emanated from Kotori's coat pocket, checking the caller would reveal that it was Nico who was calling. "Seems like Nico-chan is calling. I'll get going then."

"Hmm. See ya around." Maki hummed, dunking the towel into the basin and placing it on Hanayo's forehead, making the latter shiver afterwards. "It's cold, but please bear with it Hanayo."

"S-Sure." Hanayo muttered, wondering if her fever was that bad or Maki was just being overprotective. Knowing her medical history however, Hanayo guessed that Maki was simply taking care of her because of her rising temperature. _'It'll be nice if Maki-chan was actually worried about me...'_

"You should take good care of yourself, I'll worry you know." Maki sighed, placing a tender hand on Hanayo's cheek. "You're... quite special to me. I mean, you're a special friend of mine. It's hard not to worry about you, so please... please take good care of yourself..."

"... Thank you..." Maki blinked in confusion, nevertheless smiled as she watched Hanayo fall asleep.

"No... thank _you_ Hanayo... for making my life even enjoyable..."

XXXXXX

Uh, hey. It's me, the author. I don't usually appear myself, but those three ran off... and I didn't schedule the next batch to appear in this chapter so... yeah. Maybe I should take responsibility for the A/N once in a while. Okay so, I really wanted to publish this chapter _before_ 9th January but due to tons of procrastination on my part, be it in the form of homework or playing online games, I ended up finishing only today. Well, not like I have a large group of readers but it still shows my inability to keep to deadlines. And uh, it's supposed to be the second day of the Lunar New Year now so happy Lunar New Year I guess?

On another note, I'll be addressing the reviews (which I nearly forgot to do so).

 **Kyarin the Tiger:** Thank you for providing me with the idea, it's only fair to have Umi to credit you, even though I didn't actually know that you liked Umi. Still, thank you for the idea and your kind encouragement.

 **YayaSamuko:** It really isn't that funny, though we could go on about this and never reach a conclusion. I'll try to come up with some NozoAnju moments, though be prepared to be disappointed as I'm leaning towards the KotoNico side... Regarding the Toyawa part, it's really just a lame name that I came up with on the spot. I'm really terrible with naming stuff after all. And the chapter count... I'll be honest, I have _no_ freaking idea. I'm not the type to plan out the number of chapters I'll be doing. I'll end it once I think it's enough, though I can guarantee you (and to all readers of HSR) that I have an ending planned this time. Well, part of it at least. How to incorporate the planned ending with the final chapter is another problem that I'll leave on the back burner...

With that, Chapter 6 is done! Great job to all of the readers who have survived reading six chapters of agony! If you want more torture, Chapter 7 will be up soon!


	7. Chapter 7

Nozomi: Hey y'all! Ready for some painful arrows from Cupid?!

Kotori: Um... Nozomi-chan?

Nozomi: To all those lonely, single people out there, are you ready to foam over the sickeningly sweet Valentine dates?!

Kotori: NOZOMI-CHAN!

Nozomi: Hm? What's up Kotori-chan?

Kotori: What in the world are you saying?! Just because today is Valentine's Day...

Nozomi: Ah that... Well I figured that I'll just go with Enya-chan's depreciating tone to start the whole A/N!

Kotori: That's a terrible idea! You scared poor Kayo-chan!

Nozomi: Speaking of which, where _is_ she? *Searches for Hanayo*

Kotori: Like I said, you scared her away! *Sighs*

Nozomi: Whoopsie~ I'm sure she'll be at the end though. Anyhoo, Enya-chan doesn't own anything!

XXXXXX

"Hey Hanayo, have you ever ran away from your parents just for a day and they tried all ways to get you back?" Maki asked, not looking up from a book that she was currently reading.

"H-Huh? N-No, can't say that I have... I-I don't dare to run away from them after all, leaving them even for a day sounds too lonely..." Hanayo replied, her lavender eyes watching Maki's next movement cautiously. For Maki to mention anything related to family, it was a sure sign that something bad was going to happen. Or Hanayo admitted that she hated rice, which was clearly unlikely.

"That's nice. How's your father doing? Heard from Rin that he was free to leave the hospital." Maki continued, flipping the page of her book.

"O-Oh, he's fine." Hanayo replied, surprised at Maki's concern. "Say, what book are you reading?"

"This? Rabbits and Pandas, a book about student-teacher relationships."

"I-Is it nice?"

"Hmm... Not bad I guess? Could be better, but I'll take it." Maki shrugged, her left hand instinctively reaching for her cup. Her cup which was in the hands of a certain designer. "... Where the hell is my cup?"

"With me." The designer replied, taking a sip only for her to gag the offending coffee out afterwards. "Must you _always_ take it black?!"

"Nico-chan, you know I hate sweet stuff. It's like an invasion of my taste buds, my mouth feels disgusting afterwards." Maki's amethyst eyes shifted from the page to Nico's disdaining face. "Wipe that freaking disdain of your nico nico mask."

"Right back at you, can't believe Hanayo is forced to sit opposite you just so that she can watch your ugly scowl." Nico shot back, taking a seat beside Maki nonetheless. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Rabbits and Pandas. Speaking of which, when are you gonna return me the book that I lent you a while back?" Maki asked, shooting Nico a glare.

"Oh you mean My Roommate? It's still in my room, I'll return it to you tomorrow or maybe next week. If you want, you can come over and get it from me." Nico offered, her eyebrows jumping suggestively.

"Pffft. No thanks." Maki scoffed, her attention focused between her book, Nico and Hanayo, though she wanted to enjoy silence with Hanayo. _'It's really comfortable to have her for company even though we're doing nothing together...'_

"... Y'know, shouldn't you say something to Hanayo? I mean, she's still here after all." Nico pointed out after noticing Hanayo's uncomfortable gaze. _'I pity her, falling for a socially-awkward person like Maki-chan. Thank god she likes you back, if not she wouldn't even allow you to sit near her...'_

"Y-You don't have to worry about me!" Hanayo hastily replied, not wanting to disturb Maki's reading. Too late though, for Maki had stopped reading entirely and focused her attention on the rice-loving woman.

"On the contrary, I _want_ to worry about you Hanayo." Maki smiled, which made Nico's jaw drop. "Say, shall we gossip? It's rather frivolous, but I read that it's a good way for people to bond."

"E-Eh?! Wouldn't that be bad... we'll be talking nasty stuff about others behind their backs..." Hanayo countered, not wanting to offend anyone without them knowing.

"Oh, then we won't talk behind their backs. It's just like you Hanayo, considering other people's feelings." Maki grinned, sending Hanayo into a blushing fit. "So, you remember the day you got sick and Kotori went out with Nico-chan for dinner? I heard that Kotori kicked her real hard, humiliating poor Nico-chan."

"I-I thought you said that you're not gonna talk behind people's backs?! W-Why are you talking shit about _me_?!" Nico panicked, shocked by Maki's starting topic.

"I did say that... but never did I once promise that I won't talk about people who are _present_ right?" Maki smiled devilishly, sending shivers down Nico's spine. "Hanayo, what are your thoughts on Nico-chan's humiliating defeat? Do you think that Kotori should have went easy on our beloved gremlin?"

"Well knowing Nico-san and Kotori-san, I think it was right of Kotori-san to not go easy during the argument." Hanayo replied, unaffected by the fact that Nico was still present.

"Y-You too Hanayo...? A-Anyways, it wasn't exactly an argument but-"

"By the way Hanayo, I heard that it's not about fashion that day. It was about who was topping in their increasingly dysfunctional relationship!" Maki laughed crudely, something wouldn't be expected from the usually serious ex-heiress of a famous hospital.

"Oh my, how scandalous!" Hanayo faked a gasp, if there was anything that Nico or any other bystander could learn from the conversation, it would be that Hanayo could just be as devious as she was shy among people. For her to play along with Maki, Nico could only conclude that Hanayo was very much in love with Maki or that Hanayo had a darker side just like how Kotori had her own dark side. "So, who is the one topping the relationship?"

"Obviously it _isn't_ Nicocchi~" Nozomi appeared at the table the trio were at, a smirk plastered across her face. "Hello you three, I have some very important news to deliver!"

"Yeah yeah, Maki-chan and I know about it. And we think that you should spare Hanayo the details for surely she doesn't want to get involved in another one of your mechanics." Nico shot back, a paling look surfacing on her already pale features.

"Actually I would very much like to k-" Hanayo was soon cut off by Nico, who decided that the best idea to shut her up was to hurl Maki's book at the poor woman. "Ow my nose..."

"... Wait till Kotori-chan hears about how you've decided to engage in BDSM with Hanayo-chan after you can't stand hearing how you're the bottom in the relationship! No wonder we call you KotoNico for short!" Nozomi beamed, earning herself a series of smacks at her large chest. "Oh Nicocchi, stop playing around and focus on Kotori-chan~!"

"Damn it, just go away already!" Maki groaned, hurling her half-empty cup of coffee at Nozomi, with the liquid spilling all over Nozomi. Luckily for her, the coffee already went cold due to exposure to room temperature.

"Fine fine, I'll send the info in the group anyways. See ya!" Nozomi winked at Hanayo, speeding off afterwards. Both Maki and Nico glared at the retreating figure, in which Hanayo asked the question the duo dreaded answering.

"What's the 'very important news' Nozomi wants to tell us?" Hanayo asked innocently, which made matters slightly worse.

XXXXXX

 _Spiritualyan: [okay so i'll be posting the pairings for vday n u should make plans with that SO~]_

 _Kirakira: [Seriously Nozomi, do we have to do this every year?]_

 _Erena Todo: [Yeah, we all know it's a ploy to get all of us together...]_

 _Eli Ayase: [What do you mean 'all of us'? Only some of us are in a relationship.]_

 _Niconiconii: [u arent paying attention to the ppl u hired eli]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Hey I do! I'm very aware that Nozomi is in a relationship with Anju!]_

 _Honkersnbread: [we all know tht elichan, nicochan is in one w/kotorichan!]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Can **that** even be considered as a relationship? All I see is the two of them yelling and hurling insults at each other...]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Not my place to say this, but nico-chan and kotori can be tender at times...]_

 _Ricericepana: [Um... So the Valentine event is basically just a date on Valentine's Day?]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [If nico-chan and i knew that you'll be this unfazed, we should have allowed nozomi to explain]_

 _Niconiconii: [hey i thot u said tht u wanna change ur username?]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Ahh right, figured that it sounds better than tomato girl so i left it like that]_

 _Niconiconii: [... dude wth...]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [I'm surprised that Rin, Kotori and Anju didn't show up. Are they busy?]_

 _Honkersnbread: [no idea]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Isn't Rin attending an interview session regarding her latest anime? And as for the other two... Nico, why aren't you helping them?]_

 _Niconiconii: [cuz im not near the animation rm?]_

 _Erena Todo: [Nozomi, didn't you say that you'll be uploading the pairings? Why haven't you done so?]_

 ** _Spiritualyan has posted an image._**

 _Spiritualyan: [there]_

 _Kirakira: [Aw come on Erena **again**?! I go out with her **every week**!]_

 _Erena Todo: [Highly doubt that 'hanging out' and 'going out' are of similar meaning.]_

 _Ricericepana: [So Maki-chan and I will be hanging out together on the 14th! I'm looking forward to it_ _]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [So am i]_

 _Niconiconii: [aw nuts i know u want us together but srsly not kotori_ T_T _|||]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [How shameless -\\\\\\-]_

 _Eli Ayase: [You got Rin, way better than Honoka in my opinion...]_

 _Honkersnbread: [so cold_ T^T _]_

 _Spiritualyan: [sure sure, make sure u guys take a comemorative shot at the end of the day!]_

 _Niconiconii: [commemorative not comemorative short of one m]_

 _Spiritualyan: [spelling nazi]_

"Hanayo, where do you want to go on Valentine's Day?" Maki asked, logging out of the conversation. Hanayo logged out of the conversation and pondered for a moment, before smiling indecisively.

"Honestly, I don't know. I-I've never went out with someone other than Rin-chan before..." Maki nodded sympathetically, understanding how Hanayo felt.

"Well I don't give a flying damn to where you guys wanna hang, but you better not think of having a gaming date in this damned building." Nico added her opinion, subtly indicating to Maki that her possible idea of a date was a terrible option.

"Of course I wouldn't." Maki coolly replied, folding her arms as she continued to stare at Hanayo's lavender eyes. _'Well there goes my idea.'_

"H-How about a visit to an art gallery? Eli-san was telling me the other day about an art gallery featuring famous artworks." Hanayo suggested, remembering Eli's helpful guide to what Maki liked. Sure enough, Maki's face lit up while Nico faked a throw up.

"That's a great idea!"

"Not." Nico quipped, running off as Maki threatened to bludgeon her with the book.

XXXXXX

"... Really Nozomi-chan...?" Kotori muttered as she stared at her phone's screen, an image blown up so that she could see the contents clearly. "Just because Nico-chan and I hang out a lot, it doesn't mean that we should be paired together..."

"C'mon, I think it's nice of her to put you two together. We all know how loving you are towards her..." Anju replied, not daring to look Kotori in the eye. "W-Well, besides even so you have no choice to partner up with Nico-san! Going by Nozomi-san's pairings, you'll be left with Nico-san at the end."

"Still... our relationship is pretty toxic... love can't cure it." Kotori sighed wryly, her attention now fully on Anju. "And you? Are you with Nozomi-chan as a friend with benefits or..."

"... It's complicated, not as much as yours though. I'm surprised that you could tell that it isn't really romantic..." Anju replied, violet eyes gazing at her phone's lock screen, which was a picture of her together with Nozomi. "I don't see Nozomi-san as a mere hookup though. Unfortunately, she probably views me as such, except that she has a strong platonic bond with me..."

"Huh, so the Cupid isn't that good with her own romance after all." Kotori noted, her phone vibrating at a new message. "Bet that's Nico-chan."

 _Niconiconii: [i know u dont wanna go out, so lets just chill at my place]_

 _Minamibirdie: [I hope it isn't those 'netflix and chill' kinda chill...]_

 _Niconiconii: [heck no, my siblings r still home!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Let me guess, you need my help in babysitting them?]_

 _Niconiconii: [actually more like help cocoro w/her first date tht niconii murdered soon ^^]_

 _Minamibirdie: [You're horrible nico-chan...]_

 _Niconiconii: [u still luv me anyways, so meh]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Tell me the specific details later, right now where are you?]_

 _Niconiconii: [running away from makichan why?]_

 _Minamibirdie: [...you just have to flip her off...]_

"So Anju-chan, did Nozomi-chan get back to you?" Kotori asked, satisfied with her conversation with Nico. The furrowed look on Anju's face told Kotori what she wanted to know.

 _Spiritualyan: [hey hey, wanna go out on a date?]_

 _Yukihime: [Why bother asking when we're supposed to go on a date?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [no i mean **outside** dates, do you wanna go on 1 or nah?]_

 _Yukihime: [What do you plan on doing should I say inside?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [... i dunno actually... kinda just wanna spend some time by ourselves yknow?]_

 _Yukihime: [For someone who suggested the idea on having a date on a romantic day of the damn year, you sure suck at following up.]_

 _Spiritualyan: [i did tell u that i'm a virgin when it comes to romance...]_

 _Yukihime: [Okay fine, it's better if we stay indoors anyways. Are you coming over to mine or am I going over to yours?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [How about your place? It's been awhile after all..._ ^W^]

"I have no idea what is Nozomi-san trying to do to get laid, but our date sounds promising. Probably." Anju replied after she was done, a hesitant smile on her face. "Am I allowed to hope for a romantic relationship with the woman that I've slept with for two and a half years?"

"I don't see why not, after all if someone like me can enjoy a relationship with Nico-chan then so can you." Kotori replied, a sincere smile on her face. It would be a scene with many 'feels' as modern society had coined it, if it weren't for the grimace on Anju's face.

"... Sorry, but you're not exactly the best example that anyone can compare to..."

XXXXXX

"Hey Nicocchi... do you know what to do during an indoor date?" Nozomi asked, stopping Nico from entering the animation room. Nico rolled her eyes as though she was just asked the most obvious question in the world.

"Dude, you're supposed to spend quality time together since you're indoors. And you call yourself Cupid, shouldn't you be great at romance and anything cheesy?"

"I call myself that as I'm great at shipping people together. Other than that, not really." Nozomi replied, sighing heavily. "What should I do... I asked An-chan on a date indoors... In this rate it'll just turn into our normal make-out sessions..."

"Well don't look at me, I enlisted Kotori's help for Cocoro's upcoming date. Cocoa and Cotaro are going over to a friend's place for homework, which leaves me to do all the work." Nico responded, not particularly worried for Nozomi.

"Aw man... and I had my heart set on trying to have a non-sexual date with An-chan this time... Ya know, we usually just hang out to bang each other... and I don't really want to continue that, leading people on a string..."

"Hang on... you mean that your relationship with Anju is purely sexual?! You two aren't dating?!" Nico asked, shocked to hear Nozomi imply that she wasn't in a relationship with Anju. "We thought that you're-"

"Dating An-chan. Yeah, I wish I am..." Nozomi sighed, glancing at the door. "Keep this to yourself though, I have no idea what will Tsu-chan and Erena-chan do to me if they found out that I'm just using An-chan for sex..."

"Sure sure, bet Kotori already knew about it though. Whatevs, later then." Nico shrugged, entering the animation room. Upon entering the room, she saw Anju spinning around in her chair. "... What the hell are you doing Anju...?"

"She's slacking on her work so that she can force Nozomi-chan to help her on Valentine's Day." Kotori responded, a smirk on her face. "I suggested that idea to her, brilliant right?"

"... I'm not sure if you can trust Nozomi with the animations... I mean, yeah she did help me out back when we were still Toyawa but..." Nico grimaced, banishing the thought of Nozomi helping with the animations. "S-She's more of a VA kinda person, y'know what I mean?"

"... Well she's a smart cookie, I think I can teach a thing or two in private..." Anju remarked, her expression going from neutral to panic within a second. "I-I don't mean in a sexual way!"

"We know." Kotori and Nico nodded, leaving Anju to her own devices as they went back to work.

XXXXXX

 _Umi Sonoda: [Please help me, I don't know how to ask Rin out!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Just ask her out, not like she has any reason to reject you]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [What if she finds me disgusting?! You know that I like her!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Umi-chan calm down. Rin-chan has no reason to reject you, but if you're still worried then ask kayo-chan?]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [I can't ask her! What if she accidentally spills the whole thing to Rin?!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Don't worry, kayo-chan can keep secrets. Trust me on this]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Okay then, thanks for hearing me out. Good night.]_

"Even Umi-chan's worked up over Valentine's huh?" Kotori giggled as her phone vibrated once more. "Hm? Rin-chan? That's rare..."

 _Nyanyanya: [omg help me kotorichan how do i ask out umichan?!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Tell her?]_

 _Nyanyanya: [omg noooo not like that! umichan is so not gay, she will run if i ask!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Rin-chan, i can assure you that she's at least bi]_

 _Nyanyanya: [but im so not hot n she doesnt like ppl like me]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Trust me on this, just ask her to accompany you to the movies. A library works too?]_

 _Nyanyanya: [ehhh will that work? but she said that she doesnt like movies...]_

 _Minamibirdie: [That's because she's self-conscious. Book a late night show and she'll definitely agree!]_

 _Nyanyanya: [ok if u say so...]_

"Those two... well, I hope their date goes well..." Kotori sighed, managing both parties in a pairing was hard work. To make things worse for Kotori, her phone vibrated again. "Seriously...?! Oh wait, this is Honoka-chan..."

 _Honkersnbread: [omg help me kotorichan how do i ask out elichan?!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Tell her?]_

 _Honkersnbread: [omg noooo not like that! elichan may be super gay, but even she has standards!]_

"For a second I thought it'll be déjà vu... Okay how to help Honoka-chan... ah!"

 _Minamibirdie: [Go to an accessory shop with her? She mentioned once that she liked making accessories out of stuff from shops...]_

 _Honkersnbread: [uhhh u mean the one i got myself kicked out from?]_

 _Minamibirdie: [...honoka-chan...]_

 _Honkersnbread: [im sorry but the bread charms look so damn gd!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [You're on your own now... Just go along those lines and you should be okay]_

"Honoka-chan..." Kotori sighed, tossing her phone to one side. Her phone was about to hit the wall, but was stopped by someone. "Oh Nico-chan, you done with the bath?"

"Yeah, can't believe Cocoro went out on a sleepover at the last minute..." Nico grumbled, irritated at the sudden change of plans. "Thanks for coming over though."

"It's fine, we can get some animating done."

"Always the workaholic. By the way, is your phone blowing up? Mine is." Nico held up her phone, revealing conversations with Nozomi, Eli and even Maki. "I'm friends with three gay losers."

"Yeah, mine too. Umi-chan, Honoka-chan and Rin-chan asked me for help just now." Kotori replied, sighing. "Does it really matter how would the other person think...?"

"Normally I would say no, but you do realise that they're still colleagues? They'll see each other every day." Nico pointed out, taking a seat beside Kotori. "Since my siblings aren't gonna be home on V-Day, wanna visit mama with me?"

"... Shouldn't that come when we're _actually_ dating?"

"Technically we are, just that it's pretty dysfunctional and unhealthy."

"Your mom may get a heart attack if she finds out..."

"Ah screw it, let's go rent a few movies after we're done visiting. And maybe find a good lawyer too." Nico suggested, leaning on Kotori's shoulder. Kotori gave Nico a wary look, not liking the last part.

"... What did you do?"

"Not what did I do, it's what I'm about to do when we reach the hospital." Nico smirked, holding up a thick book. "You think Maki-chan's parents will like a book being fed to them?"

"No Nico-chan, assaulting the Nishikinos is a bad idea. Think about your mother." Kotori tried to dissuade Nico from going through with her original plan, which somehow succeeded.

"Fine, but you gotta admit, I'm a great Cupid eh?"

"... Okay I get it, I yield. Now dry your hair, it's getting all over Maki-chan's book." Kotori sighed as Nico hastily dried her wet hair with her pink towel.

XXXXXX

Hanayo: T-There's part 2 to this chapter! The second part will be in Chapter 8!

Nozomi: Also released on the same day as this one, but you guys probably skipped this chapter. After all, there's an arrow to allow you guys to skip to the latest chapter!

Kotori: Sorry Kayo-chan... I tried to restrain Nozomi-chan...

Nozomi: And lookie here, no reviews!

Hanayo: U-Um... It's only 30th January... There wouldn't be any reviews yet...

Nozomi: Well if we're popular then we will yan!

I'm sorry for intruding, but I'm here to take Nozomi away.

Kotori: Oh it's Enya-chan!

Yeah, so Nozomi? *Pulls Nozomi away*

Hanayo: I wonder why did Nozomi-chan have to go away...?

Kotori: Probably because she was acting really weird?

*Nozomi enters*

Nozomi: Sorry for the interruption, I'm back! Anyhoo, we'll be continuing the Valentine Day arc in the next chapter so look forward to it~!

KotoPana: (Why do I have a feeling that Enya-chan replaced the previous Nozomi-chan with an understudy...?)


	8. Chapter 8

Tsubasa: Hey, it's A-RISE again. Speaking of which, we handled the second part of a holiday special quite recently right?

Anju: You mean Christmas? Well sure, but I don't really remember much...

Erena: Actually, I thought the Soldier Game trio handled the final part of the Christmas special...

Tsubasa: Uh no, that was technically the New Year special.

Anju: Hey I know what the author can do! She can use us to produce holiday specials! That way she can clear HSR _and_ fulfil the unspoken rule to publish a holiday-based story!

TsubaErena: That's a great idea! Ahahahaha- PLEASE DON'T TELL HER THAT.

Anju: Why not?

Erena: That's just plain lazy.

Anju: But she has a lot of commitments after all... and she has a lot of multi-chapter stories that she wanna start...

Tsubasa: Just... no. Besides, if it weren't for her stupid rule of not taking up more than one multi-chapter story...

Anju: But take a look at other authors who do!

Erena: We did, she did, and those authors are far more successful and interesting than her own.

Tsubasa: This is freaking depressing. Let's just start.

Anju: 'Kay~ Enya-chan doesn't own anything!

XXXXXX

"You want me to _what_?!" Nozomi asked, a mix of horror and shock delicately hung on her porcelain face. It was Valentine's Day, and Nozomi was at Anju's house like what they had agreed on. Of course, getting Nozomi to animate wasn't one of the things that was mutually agreed on.

"Like I said, help me with the animations. Since we have virtually nothing to do, might as well help me." Anju replied, noting down Nozomi's unusual expression.

"Oh no, no way in yan hell am I gonna animate again." Nozomi shot back, trying to reach for the doorknob. She was stopped before her hand could grasp the metal knob, and was shoved onto a blue sofa. "S-Someone save me!"

"Nozomi-san, it's just animations. I'm not even asking you to strip just so I can see the female anatomy better."

"That sounds way better compared to animating!"

"... Just what is your problem with animating? You're trying your best to avoid doing it, even going as far as to attempt to escape from the window of my apartment." Anju asked, well aware of her superior's attempt. "Don't forget that we're on the ninth floor, so it's gonna be a bloody affair if you choose to jump down."

"I-I... I'm not good at drawing!" Nozomi admitted, though she was still at the window in case she needs to make an escape.

"It's just some basic sketches... I'm not tasking you to do something major, so will you please get down from the window already?" Anju reasoned, not making an attempt to move in case Nozomi really jumped.

"A-Are you lying to me...?" Nozomi hesitantly asked, her turquoise eyes warily staring at Anju.

"Yeah right, oh and I wanna let you look at some of the sketches I did for the new anime. You remember the one where you said you want to base it off the super popular Korean game app?" Anju smiled, taking out a set of sketches from a folder. "Where are you gonna get so many people to record though..."

"I'm sure we have enough... We just need ten since we're going with the true end route." Nozomi replied, walking away from the window much to Anju's relief.

"That's like almost all of us. I know you guys are basically all VAs, but where the heck are you gonna get the tenth one?"

"Tsu-chan is a VA too, so we can enlist her help once Maki-chan and Hanayo-chan are done with their recordings. Can I take a look at the sketches?" Nozomi asked, which Anju readily complied.

"I drew them according to who I think would voice them... Of course I'll change if you or Eli-san have any problems with it..." Anju started, but stopped as she noticed the serious look on Nozomi's face.

"No, they're great. I'm surprised you chose me as 707 though." Nozomi remarked three minutes later, her usual silly grin on her face. "I've always wanted to be a hacker ya know~"

"Never knew that, and I wished I didn't." Anju joked back, to which Nozomi laughed.

"Honestly though, you chose the right people. It'll definitely work out well, since you chose us based according to our personalities." Nozomi said, slipping back into her work mode as she continued to explain how the VAs should act when recording.

 _'I swear, Nozomi-san's serious side is one of the things that I fell for...'_ Anju smiled as she allowed Nozomi to ramble away on points that she had no knowledge about.

XXXXXX

"Hey mama, I'm here to visit you." Nico said as she entered the ward. Nico's mother sat upright on the bed, a healthy glow on her face. The only thing that betrayed her supposedly good health would be the multiple tubes around her frail arms. "How are you doing?"

"Fine as always Nico. Where are your siblings?" Nico's mother asked, not expecting Kotori behind Nico. "And who is this lovely lady behind you?"

"Cocoro's on a date with some girl, Cocoa and Cotaro at their friend's house." Nico replied, eyeing Kotori. "And this two-faced woman behind me is my sort of girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you Yazawa-san, my name is Minami. Kotori Minami." Kotori smiled, mentally making a note to ensure that Nico didn't leave the hospital uninjured. "Like what Nico-chan had just mentioned, I'm not what I appear to be and can be quite sadistic to your daughter at times."

"You have earnt my respect, Minami-san. Not one person that I've met outright admitted that they treated my daughter badly at one point." Yazawa-san sighed, her dulled ruby eyes roaming to Nico. "Though Nico, why is your taste in people so terrible?"

"Well Kotori treats me better than then rest. At least she does show me her nice side, like when she hugs me after nearly strangling to death?"

"Nico-chan, that's a terrible example to cite."

"Whoops, wasn't planning on saying that one. Mama, Kotori really does treat me decently. She's the type of person who would break my heart to smithereens in an honest way if she wants to break up." Nico continued, making Yazawa-san gape in horror. "Uhhh... yeah."

"Nico... You really have terrible taste this time... but I can see that she's honest." Yazawa-san stated, her attention now focused on Kotori's smile. "Minami-san, do you realise that what my daughter has told me about you doesn't put you in a good light?"

"I'm very aware, and I would prefer that Nico-chan is honest when introducing me to you than she introduced a fake me just to protect your health." Kotori replied, a sincere smile on her face. "Nico-chan's brutal honesty is one of the things that I fell for."

"Wait seriously?! You never once told me that!" Nico burst out, turning to Kotori.

"That's because I never told you, just cause we're dating in a way doesn't mean that I have to tell you everything."

"Oh yeah, good point. So mama, do you accept me and Kotori being together?" Nico asked, her eyes reflecting that she was hoping for her mother to give them her blessings.

"... Even if I said no, you'll still continue dating Minami-san in a sort of normal way..." Yazawa-san sighed, relenting. "Minami-san, please don't step over the line though. One wrong move and you'll be the catalyst to ruin this relationship."

"Oh don't worry, we're fully aware of that. I can see where does Nico-chan get her stubbornness from. That's another trait that I fell for." Kotori smiled pleasantly, a glint in her amber eyes. Nico was honestly worried that Kotori would start a war with her mother, but also relished in the fact that they got along well. At least in Nico's terms.

"I can foresee that our life together would be very tumultuous and damaging to my health. I am horrified to tell you that I'm actually looking forward to it." Yazawa-san said, giving Kotori her blessings to be with Nico.

"Awright! Kotori, let's go and find some horror movies to rent!" Nico jumped in joy, pulling Kotori into a bone-crushing hug. "Whaddya say?"

"Hmm~ How about let's rent one horror movie and we pick out two romance movies each? I bet that you'll cry first!" Kotori suggested, a mischievous grin on her face. "Wanna take me on?"

"Oh you're _so_ on! I'll make you cry first!" Nico accepted Kotori's challenge, worrying Yazawa-san who was still awake to hear the unusual exchange between her daughter and Kotori.

 _'On hindsight, Minami-san is a great match for my Nico... Maybe Nico does have some taste in picking people...'_

XXXXXX

"U-Umi-chan, are you mad nya?" Rin asked the stoic scriptwriter, worrying over the fact that she should have followed Kotori's advice.

"... Not at all really. I'm just surprised that you brought me here..." Umi replied, a faint smile appearing on her face. Rin heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that her date for the day wasn't mad at her.

"W-Well, Rin got two tickets to Ramen Land during Christmas... and Rin didn't wanna see it go to waste so nya..." Rin explained, not wanting to look at Umi. When they usually meet, Umi would always give Rin the most intimidating glare. For what reasons only Umi herself knew.

"I understand, I was simply surprised to see this amusement park having attractions that a normal amusement park would have..." Umi responded, chuckling softly to herself. "I recall you saying that you've been here with Hanayo once?"

"Yeah, my family had an extra so Rin invited Kayo-chin nya!" Rin nodded, secretly pleased that Umi remembered such information.

"... I wished that I've met you then. It would have been nice to spend some time with you at an amusement park." Umi commented, a slight blush on her face. _'I-I'm not being obvious about my feelings towards her right?'_

"W-Well, Rin's glad that she can meet Umi-chan now!" Rin replied, also with a blush on her face. _'Umi-chan... keep this up and I may not be able to keep my feelings in check...'_

"Indeed. Rin, do you have any recommendations?" Umi asked, casually reaching out for Rin's hand and holding it. "I confess, I have never visited an amusement park before."

"Really nya?! That's pretty sad in its own way... Humans live to enjoy sensations, and that includes fun nya."

"... Try convincing my parents that. Actually, don't. I don't want to see you get hurt." Umi sighed, gently pulling Rin with her. "Say, what is the Kettle Waterfall that Hanayo mentioned on Christmas?"

"Oh that? It's a roller coaster!"

"You mean to say that patrons like to ride on a coaster meant for drinks to rest on while it rolls around?"

"Uh nyat _that_ 'roller coaster'. Rin gets the part where you've never been to an amusement park before... but you've never heard of a roller coaster?"

"Unfortunately, no. I always stay at home whenever I'm free." Umi shrugged, stopping at a large kettle with a roller coaster flying out of its spout. "W-What is that?"

"The Kettle Waterfall! It's totally safe by the way." Rin beamed, eagerly jumping up and down as several roller coasters flew out. "Umi-chan! Let's go on that one first!"

"E-Eh?! T-That seems to be rather extreme..."

"C'mon! You need to lose your boring life virginity nya!"

"I-I beg your pardon?!"

XXXXXX

"So, what movie shall we go with today?" Erena asked Tsubasa, who shrugged in response. "Oh come on Tsubasa, work with me."

"I am, I'm acting as the stereotypical girl who would always say 'anything is fine' when in reality they aren't fine with everything."

"Sooo... romance then?" Erena suggested, to which Tsubasa made a face. "Seriously Tsubasa, help me out here."

"You know I hate romance movies, it always go about the cliched way of having the guy pursuing the girl, girl giving guy mixed signals, misunderstandings plus a freakishly long and boring confession. Oh and don't forget the time skip after the confession where they end the show in a chapel." Tsubasa shot back, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I know of a romance movie that defies what you just said." Erena smirked, her aqua-coloured eyes having a teasing glint in them. Tsubasa arched an eyebrow, expressing interest.

"Oh? Do tell." Tsubasa spoke, facing Erena. With a smug grin, Erena closed up the gap between Tsubasa and herself and said...

"Go out with me Tsubasa Kira." Tsubasa's mouth dropped, that was certainly _not_ what she was expecting.

"H-Huh?! Erena Todo, what the hell are you saying right now?!" Tsubasa panicked, clearly flustered at Erena's sudden words. "Y-You know I'm straight!"

"Straight to the city of gays you mean." Erena sighed, stepping away from Tsubasa. "You seriously haven't noticed? I've known you for 22 years, and not once did you express interest in guys."

"I-I did so! Remember Akane-senpai?! I said that he was good-looking!"

"True, but when I asked whether you wanted to go out with him, you gave me a million reasons to why you wouldn't even do so."

"T-Then Kurona-san! He's hot, I told you and Anju that!"

"Yeah but when I pointed out how well-defined his abs were, you outright told us that a woman's curves were much better to look at."

"N-No I didn't!"

"Yeah, and continuing about his abs... When I told you that his abs looked really firm and I wanted to run my hands down them, you remember what you told me?"

"O-Of course not! That was back in high school!"

"You told me that you would much rather run _your_ hands down _my_ body." Erena finished, a smug look appearing on her face as she watched Tsubasa falling to the floor in despair. "You weren't subtle about it you know... I honestly thought that you were flirting with me."

"I-I was just appreciating the female anatomy just like how you do with guys at times!" Tsubasa weakly countered, trying to get a rise above Erena.

"Uh huh... does that mean that you're always appreciating me when we make out?"

"T-That's right!"

"So... let me get this straight, you only like to appreciate female anatomy while you love guys both romantically and physically?"

"YES! Finally you're back to your senses!"

"Okaaay then... tell me again why did you run away from Hirosaki-sensei when he tried to have sex with you?" Erena innocently asked, shocking Tsubasa greatly.

"Y-You knew?!"

"Uh, yeah? You told him that you're not interested in having sex with him even though you were going out with him then."

"H-How...?"

"Tsubasa, it was literally right after our lectures. I was hanging around outside so that I could wait for you."

"... Erena you jerk..." Tsubasa groaned, getting up from the floor.

"You know... I've loved you since the day we first met, and I'm always trying to pursue you. Heck, every time I tell you that we should get married, you always rebuffed me."

"You were being serious?!"

"Really Tsubasa, when am I never serious?" Erena sighed in exasperation, shaking her head as she tried to figure out why hadn't Tsubasa figure out her own sexuality. _'Oh right, cause her parents are strict Christians and think that homosexuality is the ultimate sin.'_

"I-I... wow. My parents are _so_ going to kill me when they find out." Tsubasa replied, shaking her head in despair. "Hey Erena?"

"Hm? What is it?" Erena asked, glancing at the movie timings. "Shoot, we just missed a few."

"Screw that, let's just go watch movies at your place later. Right now, help me pack." Tsubasa scoffed, dismissing Erena's worry with a wave of her hand.

"Uh... sure. But why?"

"Ah that? I'm coming out to my parents, and then I'll move in with you." Tsubasa replied, pressing her lips to Erena's left cheek. "Let's get married."

"Pffft! Ahahaha! Oh man, that's seriously so anti-climatic Tsubasa!" Erena laughed, hugging Tsubasa happily. "Yeah, let's get married later!"

XXXXXX

"You know, when you said we're going to the park, this isn't what I was expecting." Eli admitted, jogging on the spot as she waiter for Honoka to catch up. "And I didn't expect you to run out of breath so easily."

"Eli...chan... we've been... doing this... for... about... an hour..." Honoka wheezed, finally reaching Eli. "How... are you... so... damn fast...?!"

"Hmm, no idea? Though this is a much better location than what I expected you to suggest." Eli shrugged, offering Honoka her water bottle. Honoka snatched the bottle away from Eli's hand and gulped down the contents. "H-Hey, slow down a little!"

"Fwah! I can breathe better now!" Honoka gasped, smiling gratefully. "Eli-chan, if you didn't expect me to suggest running _or_ the park, then where did you expect me to suggest?"

"... Playing pachinko... in Akiba?" Eli smiled apologetically, feeling guilty for assuming the worse. "Sorry, but knowing your history..."

"I quit gambling a long time ago! You of all people should know that!" Honoka retorted, clearly shocked that Eli would still think that she gambled.

"Well, but you embezzled the studio's funds just to lose 99 percent of them at pachinko..."

"I-I won it back at the last try!"

"... Can't deny that..." Eli sighed, her gaze dropping down to her right leg. Compared to her to her left leg that was still spotless, her right leg was marred with numerous scars circling around it. "Say, how's your family doing?"

"Huh? Oh uh, they're quite alright... My dad decided to start a confectionery business, and it's doing fine."

"That's nice, I should visit it someday. Maybe I should bring my sister along..." Eli smiled, though it wasn't one of her usual smiles. Honoka couldn't place her finger on it, but it seemed to her that Eli was remembering something that she didn't want to...

"Speaking of your sister, how is she? Is she still doing ballet?" Honoka asked, deciding that she'll change topics. What she failed to realise was that Eli's behaviour became worse as soon as Honoka mentioned ballet.

"... Yup, she's still the pride and joy of the Ayase family." Eli mumbled, her cerulean eyes losing their sparkle. "Not like me, the black sheep of the Ayase family."

"T-That's not true! You're someone that everyone aspire to be!" Honoka tried to persuade Eli to think otherwise, but she wasn't particularly successful. _'I heard from Nozomi-chan that Eli-chan can get depressed, but she never told me it's basically a mental condition! Heck, even Eli-chan herself doesn't look depressed!'_

"... Yeah right. Who would want to be like me? I can no longer dance, I'm just like a broken ballerina toy... once they stop moving they're good as being useless." Eli chuckled deprecatingly. "You know something? Ever since that day, I can't do a proper spin on my right. It still aches whenever I bend my right knee... sometimes I think that I should just invest in a crutch or maybe even a wheelchair..."

"Eli-chan, you don't need your skills as a former ballerina! In fact, even if you lose your voice, you're still needed by Muse Studios! It's not about what you can do to help the studio, it's what you can do to us! All we need is your presence, without you Muse Studios isn't the same!"

"... I wish my parents can see the same way as you do..." Eli sighed regretfully, forcing a smile. "Can't believe our conversation escalated that quickly. Today is supposed to be a special day, I shouldn't bring the mood down by talking about my past..."

"I'm glad you did though." Honoka swiftly replied, surprising Eli just as swiftly. "When I first joined, I thought that you were some cold person who doesn't care about others. Now... I learnt more about you, and I want to learn more in the near future."

"Honoka..." Eli took a moment to digest Honoka's words, smiling in approval. "Thank you."

"T-There's no need to thank me! Anyways, I think we ran enough. Where do you wanna go next?" Honoka beamed, happy that she finally made Eli smile genuinely. _'Man, I'm falling more in love with Eli-chan... not like I'll ever tell her that.'_

"Hmm... How about a love hotel?" Eli suggested, giggling at the horrified gasp that came out from Honoka. "It's just a joke. How about a cafe?"

"A-Ahaha... A joke... yeah, totally got me there..." Honoka wiped the sweat off her her forehead, running after Eli afterwards. "Hey wait up!"

"I am waiting for you!" Eli replied back, leaning on a tree. As she waited for Honoka to catch up to her, Eli allowed herself to bask under the warm sunlight and to sort out her thoughts.

 _'To confess that is. I'm not that oblivious Honoka. Why do you think that I told you how I really feel about my injury?_

XXXXXX

"The art gallery featured some interesting paintings. I'm half-surprised that you didn't drool over the one featuring bountiful rice harvests." Maki commented, a teasing smile on her face.

"W-Well, it's rude of me to do so over a painting! Paintings are meant to be admired so that we can observe a deeper story behind it, not for me to drool over!" Hanayo replied hastily, an embarrassed pout appearing on her face. The two of them just left the art gallery, and were heading to a cafe.

"Well I don't mind actually, you look cute when there's rice around you." Maki grinned, locking eyes with Hanayo's lavender ones. "You know, I would much prefer to admire you than those paintings.

"E-Eh?!" Hanayo squeaked, her heart was beating faster. Her heart was already beating relatively fast at the art gallery, and Maki's comment didn't do anything to quell it. _'I-Is Maki-chan flirting with me?! What do I do?! Someone save me!'_

"I mean, you have such beautiful skin. Plus your lavender eyes is calming, and your glasses is a bonus." Maki clarified, coughing into her fist. _'Wow, never knew that I could be so damn obvious...'_

"O-Oh... so that's what you meant..." Hanayo sighed, she honestly hoped that Maki _was_ flirting with her. _'Why am I hoping that Maki-chan is flirting with me...?'_

"Well, we're here." Maki said, stopping outside a cafe. "It's somewhere that I usually hang out with Nico-chan and Eli. The food here is great, especially the dessert."

"W-Wow, you must be really close with them..." Hanayo asked, taking a look at the menu. "There's cheesecake... Kotori-san will like this..."

"Yeah, I hung out with them a lot right after I joined officially." Maki shrugged, placing a hand on Hanayo's shoulder. "We started to hang out less after a while, Eli with work and Nico-chan... well, with Kotori I guess?"

"Nico-san is quite devoted to Kotori-san..."

"Very true, but don't ever let Kotori hear that. I swear, those two are a mess..." Maki sighed, leading Hanayo to a table. "... Hanayo."

"E-Eeeep?! M-Maki-chan, what is it?" Hanayo asked, startled by the sudden utterance of her name.

"Did you have fun?"

"Fun...? Yeah! I'm always having fun when I'm with you Maki-chan!" Hanayo responded, blinding Maki with her innocent answer.

"I'm glad. This is the first time that I'm enjoying myself with someone else..." Maki smiled, her right hand partially covering her amethyst eyes. "Hey, shall we take a picture to commemorate our first date?"

"Oh you mean for the event? Sure thing!" Hanayo nodded, positioning herself such that she was beside Maki. With a simple click, the picture was taken and soon sent to the group. What they thought of the picture however... well, it was surprisingly synchronised and romantic.

 _'I'm going to put the picture I/Maki-chan took as my lock screen!'_

XXXXXX

 ** _Tsunderequeen has posted an image._**

 _Tsunderequeen: [Here's me and hanayo at a cafe]_

 _Spiritualyan: [oooh that's cool~~]_

 _Honkersnbread: [hey elichan isnt that the cafe we went?]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Indeed. So I was right...]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Wth don't tell me you two stalked us...]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Dream on. We just went there after we went jogging at a park.]_

 ** _Eli Ayase has posted an image._**

 _Honkersnbread: [omg did u take this before we started?]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Yeah, why?]_

 _Niconiconii: [i bet tht she wants to take ugly shots of u]_

 _Honkersnbread: [busted]_

 _Yukihime: [Anyway here is ours...]_

 ** _Yukihime has posted an image._**

 _Eli Ayase: [I've never seen these sketches before... which anime does this belong to?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [the one that i told u we'll be plagarising from!]_

 _Eli Ayase: [You mean that insanely popular Korean game app?! Did you even get their permission?!]_

 _Spiritualyan: [nope~~]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Oh my god]_

 ** _Nyanyanya has posted an image._**

 _Nyanyanya: [tada umichan n i went to ramenland]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [It was rather enjoyable. Nozomi, do we need to put another snapshot if we're continuing our date in another location?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [whaaa where r u now?]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [We're planning to catch a show at 11.07pm]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Umi-chan it's not even 9 yet...]_

 ** _Niconiconii has posted a video._**

 _Minamibirdie: [Nico-chan did you seriously post a picture of me introducing myself to your mom?!]_

 _Niconiconii: [uh no u dipshit, its a freaking vid]_

 _Minamibirdie: [I'm so going to rape you later]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Kotori?!]_

 _Niconiconii: [Try me, ur still crying over the movie]_

 _Minamibirdie: [That's it]_

 ** _Minamibirdie left the conversation._**

 ** _Niconiconii left the conversation._**

 _Yukihime: [Well that was awkward... Where's Tsubasa-chan and Erena-chan? They're already logged in...]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Give them some time...]_

 ** _Kirakira has posted an image._**

 _Yukihime: [OMG Tsubasa-chan you didn't...]_

 _Erena Todo: [We totally did! Man her dad was flipping out on us!]_

 _Kirakira: [Totally didn't regret that]_

 _Yukihime: [OMFG where are you gonna stay?]_

 _Ricericepana: [Maybe Erena-san's house?]_

 _Erena Todo: [She's totally right, we're now married!]_

 _Yukihime: [HOW THE HELL DID YOU TWO DO IT WITHIN ONE DAY?!]_

 _Kirakira: [Erena wanted to show me a non-cliched romance movie, and in the end told me my sexuality.]_

 _Yukihime: [Still cannot believe that you didn't know...]_

 _Spiritualyan: [lol]_

 _Honkersnbread: [rofl]_

 _Nyanyanya: [anyways we're going to a bar first then movie, bye]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Enjoy the rest of the evening.]_

 ** _Nyanyanya has left the conversation._**

 ** _Umi Sonoda has left the conversation._**

 _Eli Ayase: [I'm going to visit Honoka's family. They apparently sell Japanese confectionery now...]_

 _Honkersnbread: [which is rlly yucks tbh]_

 ** _Honkersnbread has left the conversation._**

 ** _Eli Ayase has left the conversation._**

 _Erena Todo: [We should go too Tsubasa, we need to unpack your stuff...]_

 _Kirakira: [There isn't much though]_

 _Erena Todo: [I still need to find space for them right?]_

 _Kirakira: [Right right]_

 ** _Erena Todo has left the conversation._**

 ** _Kirakira has left the conversation._**

 _Spiritualyan: [for some reason, it feels anticlimatic 2 end it like this...]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [What, u want us to shower each other with heart emojis?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [that's a start]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [I rather do it in private]_

 _Ricericepana: [Me too actually, sorry...]_

 _Spiritualyan: [no need to apologise, its ok]_

 ** _Spiritualyan has left the conversation._**

 _Yukihime: [Nozomi went to bathe, and I should get going too. Have a good night you two~]_

 ** _Yukihime has left the conversation._**

 _Tsunderequeen: [This may not be such a sucky event afterall]_

 _Ricericepana: [I enjoyed it too Maki-chan! Thanks for seeing me home! ^^]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [No prob, see u tmr]_

 ** _Tsunderequeen has left the conversation._**

 ** _Ricericepana has left the conversation._**

XXXXXX

Tsubasa: And we're finally done!

Erena: We sure are.

Anju: ... Uh, are you guys the ones I personally know or are you two from HSR...?

TsubaErena: ?

Anju: Never mind... though what's up with this? Instead of MakiPana, I see KotoNico and some non-fluffy HonoEli...

Tsubasa: Hey, is Honoka the top in the relationship...?

Anju: Like I care about that. I just call it to how I'm think it's right. HonoEli rolls off the tongue as compared to EliHono.

Erena: And for a Mystic Messenger reference to appear... that's pushing it huh?

Anju: Uh, not just one?! Wait, why am _I_ the straight man now?

Tsubasa: One, I've finally understood my real sexuality. Two, you're experiencing gender dysphoria now.

Erena: Good one.

Anju: No it isn't! You two are going too far! There are people out there who are currently experiencing this! Apologise!

Tsubasa: Well _someone_ has to be the serious one here.

Anju: It shouldn't be me! Erena-chan should do it!

Erena: Why me?

Anju: Cause Tsubasa-chan can't be serious at all! All she can do is to be cool on front of Honoka-chan in the anime series!

Tsubasa: ... Let's just end it here. We'll torture a lot more people if we continue.

Erena: Yeah, let's end this. See you next time, if we are allowed to show our faces again that is...


	9. Chapter 9

Eli: I'm so hot...

Maki: Yes yes, we all know that you're damn sexy.

Umi: No Maki, she meant the weather. We're sweating here, how is it possible that you're not?

Maki: One thing, air conditioner.

EliUmi: ... Riiiight...

Maki: What's with that drawl...? Actually, why am I still stuck with you guys?

Eli: Oh come on, it could be worse.

Umi: Yeah, try Honoka for one.

Maki: ... Point taken. Let's just start...

Eli: Right, the author doesn't own anything.

XXXXXX

"Oh Hanayo-chan! Perfect timing, I was lookin' for ya!" Nozomi beamed, running towards Hanayo. Hanayo blinked in confusion, before managing to dodge her employer's tackle. "Sheesh, no need to dodge!"

"S-Sorry!" Hanayo bowed, clearly panicking. Nozomi chuckled, patting Hanayo's head gently in an attempt to reassure her.

"It's fine, no problem at all! So anyways, I just wanted to tell ya that the mics are back in business!" Nozomi grinned, pulling out two sets of microphones meant for recording purposes. "All we need to do is to get hooked up to the cable and we're ready to roll yan!"

"That's great! I'm sure Maki-chan will be pleased to hear that!"

"Uhhhh... well, Maki-chan may or may not be happy to hear that piece of news... But hey, that tsundere needs to work too!"

"Tsundere? Maki-chan?"

"Well yeah, just that she doesn't show it to ya that much... which wasn't in my cards at all." Nozomi shrugged, turning her attention towards the keypad. "Ya mind helpin' me? I'm kinda stuck with these gizmos, an' yer hands are free so... help your ol' boss out?"

"O-Oh! S-Sure! Umm..." Hanayo rummaged her bag, and had a flash of panic after 30 seconds of searching through her bag. "H-How do we open the door again...?"

"... With your ID card Hanayo-chan." Nozomi deadpanned, it's not like Hanayo was new to this entering system so why was she... _'Oh. This feels like déjà vu all over again...'_

"... It sure is hot isn't it Nozomi-san?" Hanayo stopped her search and decided to attempt at a weak conversation with her superior.

"You don't have it with ya, do ya Hanayo-chan?" Nozomi decided to just spare the agony of the two of them standing in awkward silence once Hanayo's attempt failed.

"W-Well uh... I-It's a funny story actually..." Hanayo hesitated, would Nozomi scold her for not having the card?

"It's alright Hanayo-chan, my card actually expired an' I forgot to renew it again." Nozomi admitted, chuckling to herself.

"It feels like déjà vu..." Hanayo pointed out the similarities in the conversation with the one they had during one winter morning.

"It'll be even more so if Nicocchi comes an' save our sweatin' sorry selves."

"Huh? What are you two doing out here? It's freaking hot y'know." Cue their saviour, strolling up to the duo with dulled ruby eyes. "Ahhhh damn this, can't see straight... too hot..."

"N-Nicocchi! Please help us open the door!" Nozomi begged, which was uncharacteristic of her. Nico gave her one look, and stared at Hanayo in surprise.

"... Not that I mind, but couldn't you guys just asked Maki-chan to help you guys unlock this door? I mean, she _lives_ in this building."

"Ah." Hanayo and Nozomi could only gasp in response, wondering to themselves why didn't they think of that idea in the first place.

XXXXXX

"Seriously Nozomi, you could have just called me for help." Maki sighed, watching Nozomi fiddle around with the cables. "You're the one who allowed me to stay here after all."

"Well _sorry_ for not askin' yer royal highness who sleeps into the late afternoon!" Nozomi replied back, shooting Maki a glare.

"... Hanayo, you left your ID card in my room. Here." Maki said, pulling out Hanayo's card.

"Oh, thanks Maki-chan!" Hanayo took the card out from Maki's out-stretched hand. "I'm really forgetful at times, you must find it annoying..."

"N-Not at all." Maki hastily replied, her cheeks heating up. _'Oh man, my emotions are going haywire in this rate! Okay okay, find a way to go back to my usual tsundere self prior to her arrival...'_

"Really? Thanks for saying such kind words!" Hanayo beamed. Maki wasn't too sure whether it was simply just imagination, but she swore that she saw a bright light emanating from Hanayo.

 _'... I can't suddenly go back to my tsundere side now. Hanayo, you're just too... much like a cinnamon roll. Yeah, that's a good term.'_ Maki thought to herself as she tried her best to shield herself from the light.

"Maki-chan nyaaaa~" Rin barged into the gaming room, tacking the scarlet-haired woman. "Rin misses you nya!"

"W-What the hell is with that random reason?!" Maki asked, pushing Rin off her. "And get the heck off me, god you sure are heavy..."

"Nya? Oh Rin read about Friendship Day and decided to share it with you nya!" Rin explained, her attention soon shifting towards Hanayo. "Kayo-chiiiin! Happy Friendship Day nya!"

"... Hey Nozomi, isn't that in August? Are we already in August?" Maki asked, flopping back on to her futon.

"Yeah, it's the first day of August. Man I wish I was still a student, I don't have to worry 'bout all these stuff..." Nozomi sighed, standing up and lying beside Maki. "I'm deadbeat."

"Since when you did anything?"

"I do a lot behind the scenes ya know."

"Screwing Anju more like."

"Oh please, without me around who's gonna keep ya rascals in line?"

"Eli for sure." Maki smirked upon hearing Nozomi's groan. "Sorry but you're just not authoritative enough."

"I know, I know. Speakin' of Elichi, where _is_ she? She's usually in by now..." Nozomi muttered, raising her hand. "Ya know Maki-chan, I wish that the distance between my hand an' Polaris is just like me and my goal..."

"I'm surprised you know that the star I spray-painted on the ceiling is Polaris." Maki commented, closing her eyes as she listened to Nozomi's gentle voice. "I placed that there to remind myself of you guys."

"Huh? Why are we Polaris?"

"You guys are like my guiding star, if I didn't meet you all I wouldn't know what would I be doing now."

"Heh. I'm surprised that Muse Studios is still standin', honestly I thought we'll be finished when we're still Toyawa." Nozomi smiled wryly. "Guess Lady Luck's on my side huh?"

"What do you mean by that Nozomi?" Maki asked, but before Nozomi could give an answer, she was used as Rin's landing pad.

"Oof! Geez Rin-chan, give me a warnin' next time will ya?" Nozomi laughed breathlessly, ruffling Rin's hair.

"Nyahaha~ It's Friendship Day after all nya!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but we really need to get back to work." Tsubasa said, her head poking into the room. "We're actually behind schedule... Seriously though, how did one screw up in January last for months?!"

"Whatever Tsubasa, the place is freaking old after all." Maki shrugged, glancing at Hanayo's direction. "You coming Hanayo?"

"E-Eh? O-Oh, yeah!" Hanayo was snapped out of her daydream, quickly following after the retreating Maki.

XXXXXX

"Urgh... It's finally over..." Maki groaned, her head resting on the table. "This is... what? Episode 23?"

"It's episode 22 Maki-chan!" Hanayo replied, a smile on her face. "I find it heartening that Nikagura-sama is starting to be honest with her feelings towards Hana-chan!"

"Ehhh... Shouldn't Hana have already picked up on Nikagura's feelings...? I mean, it's pretty obvious right?" Maki countered, looking through the script. "Even the script here told me which parts that has an embarrassed tone and whatnot."

"Still..."

"Oh, you guys want to record the next episode? You two sure are eager." Tsubasa remarked, entering the recording room.

"W-What?! N-Not really..." Maki looked away, only to see Hanayo's eager expression. "U-Uh, I mean, why not?"

"... Okay then, you guys take a 30 minutes break. Take a walk or something." Tsubasa nodded, pushing the duo out of the room.

"Oh Maki, perfect timing." Umi was outside of the room, apparently waiting for Maki. "Could we talk for a bit in private?"

"Hm, I guess." Maki shrugged, following after Umi. Hanayo was left to wait by herself, though she was soon accompanied by Kotori.

"Ah Kayo-chan! Are you on break too? Wanna hang out with me for a bit?" Kotori offered, holding up a box from a famous bakery. "Nico-chan just got her hands on their cakes, and I wanna share them since it's too much for me to handle!"

"S-Sure? Though I think you should share them with Nico-san..."

"Oh don't worry about her, she bough her own share too! Come on, let's head to the cafeteria!" Kotori led Hanayo to the cafeteria, immediately locating an empty table due to the lack of people in there. "Here, feel free to take whatever you like!"

"O-Oh thank you..." Hanayo took a slice of cake from the box, cautiously bringing it towards her mouth for a bite.

"How is it?" Kotori asked, helping herself to her favourite dessert.

"It's very good! Are you I can have this though?" Hanayo beamed, which made Kotori smile too.

"Sure, why not?" Kotori nodded, her head resting on her free hand. "Say Kayo-chan, how's things with Maki-chan?"

"Hm? We're good! Maki-chan's a really great friend!" Kotori's smile faded off for a brief moment, but soon resurfaced afterwards.

"That so? She's pretty sweet once you break her cold exterior."

"Kotori-san, Maki-chan is not the least bit cold!" Hanayo frowned, now nibbling on her cake. "... Unless there's something about Maki-chan that I don't know about..."

"E-Eh?! No Kayo-chan, it's not a bad thing! I-It's just that she's lost one of her cute points, that's all!" Kotori quickly corrected her conversational partner, fearing that Hanayo may misunderstand her words. "If you really wanna know about the dark stuff, that's basically me, Umi-chan, Honoka-chan, Eli-chan, Nozomi-chan and Nico-chan!"

"W-What do you mean by that?!" Upon hearing Hanayo's terrified words, Kotori knew that she had not dodged a landmine but instead walked on an atomic bomb.

"Ummm... Dark as in we like horror movies?" Kotori tried to gloss over the topic with her usual angelic smile, but she knew that Hanayo wasn't convinced in the slightest. _'Me and my big mouth.'_

"Kotori-san, what do you mean by that? Okay well I know that Umi-san is kinda like Maki-chan after she told me that really sad fairy tale, but you too?!"

"Ummm..." Kotori really wanted to simply ditch Hanayo, but she knew that the conversation would come back to haunt her. Yet, she _really_ didn't want to answer Hanayo's questions. Thankfully for her, the perfect scapegoat happened to enter the cafeteria, and was even waving at the two of them. "Umi-chan!"

"Hey you two. Hanayo, sorry for stealing Maki away from you. She's outside if you want to talk to her." Kotori's eyes lit up upon hearing that Maki was within the vicinity, and so she stood up with an apologetic smile on her face.

"I'm so in luck, I happened to need Maki-chan right now! Kayo-chan, why don't you ask Umi-chan about it? Okay gotta go, see ya!" Kotori immediately fled the scene, with Umi taking her place. Umi simply shrugged in confusion and took a bite out of one of the cakes in the box.

"So Hanayo, what were you about to ask Kotori?" Umi asked, deciding that she should help Kotori to answer. Hanayo took a deep breath, and asked the very question that made Kotori flee.

"What did she mean by you, her, Honoka-san, Eli-san, Nico-san and Nozomi-san having a dark past?"

"Uh." Umi gulped, now she understood why was Kotori so eager to talk to Maki despite having absolutely _no_ reason to. _'Kotori... Must you always leave the tough questions to me?'_

"Oh wait hang on... Maki-chan mentioned that your past is like hers, Honoka-san made a desperate gambling attempt... and Kotori-san had to endure her parents' divorce! But how are those dark pasts?" Umi sweatdropped, Hanayo's questions had just gotten even more specific and there was still the question regarding the Toyawa crew...

"I can't tell you much about Eli or Nozomi, since they're really secretive. Nico's situation is actually more common than you think, and the three of us... well... uh... okay fine. Just don't remind Kotori about it." Umi relented, deciding that giving in was probably the easiest solution.

XXXXXX

"Why did you wanna talk to me? As far as I know, animators have nothing to do with VAs." Maki asked, glaring at Kotori. "Unless it's a Nico-chan problem. No way in hell am I gonna help you again Kotori. No freaking way."

"Not that! I just told Kayo-chan that we have a dark past!" Kotori admitted, sighing heavily. "I shouldn't have brought up the topic of you losing your tsundere charm point..."

"... Since when is that my charm point?"

"Since forever?"

"Gah... whatever, I'll bite. How did it end up that way? The conversation I mean." Maki sighed, Kotori was her friend after all. And friends hear friends out, according to Maki's perspective on how friendships worked.

"Well... I asked her about your relationship with her, tsundere, potential misunderstanding, dark past?" Kotori grinned, while Maki was scowling. "Not helping?"

"Only you and Nico-chan can make an innocent conversation escalate _that_ quickly. And I'm not dating Hanayo." Maki groaned, facepalming at her friend's 'talent'.

"I kinda guessed. Why aren't you though?" Kotori asked, curious to hear Maki's answer. What she got was... far from what she had expected.

"I... I don't want to scare her. I mean, like who goes up to a girl you really like and confesses despite only seeing each other for the first time?" Maki averted her eyes away from Kotori, her reply sounded stupid but it was way better than staying silent. That would give the wrong impression, and she was having none of that.

"Well, that always happen in manga? And didn't Nozomi-chan do that in high school? Well, according to Nico-chan at least..."

"... What?" Maki was stunned, she never knew that Nozomi went out with someone before Anju. If her relationship with Anju could be considered romantic prior to Valentine's Day that is.

"Y-Yeah, she went out with Eli-chan for around... five years?" Kotori counted her fingers, though she clearly remembered how long did the relationship lasted. "But Maki-chan, you already knew about this didn't you?"

"Uh, like no?! Geez, I hung out Eli fairly often you know and not once did she tell me about her romantic encounters!"

"... I think I just activated a hydrogen bomb instead of an atomic one..." Kotori mumbled, averting her eyes from Maki.

"Who cares what bomb you activated! C'mon, spill! What's the deal with the Toyawa crew?!" Maki demanded, pushing Kotori against a wall. Instead of giving the answers Maki (and Hanayo) desired, Kotori decided to do something that may or may not betray Nico's trust.

"Mmph!" In an instant, Kotori pressed her lips against Maki's and while Maki was in a confused state, Kotori fled the scene as though she had robbed Maki. Technically she did, but kisses weren't worth much from a practical standpoint.

"... W-What the hell just happened...?" Maki rubbed off any traces of saliva from her mouth, only noticing the disappearance of the designer a few seconds had passed. "K-Kotori! You sneaky... Gah!"

XXXXXX

"So how is it like now that you have Tsubasa-chan shacking up with you?" Anju asked, a smile that was bordering on teasing and concern hanging on her lips. Erena grinned back, even giving Anju the thumbs up. "That's really wonderful Erena-chan!"

"I know right? After all these years, Tsubasa's finally mine. It's like getting rejected for so many years have paid off..."

"I know that feeling. Nozomi-san is kinda like that..." Anju shrugged, her violet eyes roaming around. "I've never been to this part of Akiba before..."

"It's where there are more pachinko parlours than anime merch shops or electronics."

"Merch? Erena-chan, I didn't know that you knew such youthful language!" Anju teased, sticking out her tongue playfully. Erena glared, going as far as to smack Anju's head with her palm. "Youch!"

"That's what you get for making fun of me."

"Aw you're such a meanie~" Anju laughed, dismissing Erena's increasingly stern glare. Her violet eyes roamed around the colourful sights, soon settling on a group of people. "Hey Erena-chan? Why is there a group of people over there?"

"Oh today's the day where the legendary raffle takes place."

"And what makes that raffle so legendary?"

"Well, the prizes becomes more valuable." Erena explained, pausing for a moment. "In fact, I think today's top prize is-"

"ALRIGHT! I GOT A MILLION YEN!" A familiar voice yelled out, finishing Erena's sentence. Handbells were rung to congratulate the winner, while the crowd went crazy for the winner.

"... Anju, was that... someone we know? It sounded like someone from work..." Erena started, gently nudging Anju's rib. Anju nodded in response, soon dashing towards the crowd with her best friend in tow. "H-Hey Anju?!"

"C'mon, let's see who it is!" Anju said, pushing her way into the crowd. Once she got out of the crowd, a second round of ringing was heard. "T-This is unexpected..."

"W-What are you two doing here?!" Eli cried out, her hands cradling a box. Beside her was Honoka, with a white envelope in her hand.

"We could ask you the same!" Erena gasped, finally exiting the crowd.

"Congratulations miss! You won the third prize!" An old man congratulated Eli, while Anju and Erena stared in shock.

"Ahahaha... Well, Eli-chan and I were walking around this area... then we noticed that there was a raffle goin' on so... yeah." Honoka sheepishly explained, a bashful smile on her face. "But hey, I earnt a million yen!"

"... Don't tell anyone that I allowed Honoka to slip back to her vices..." Eli mumbled, staring down at her box. Erena nodded dumbly, while Anju took a look at the prize list, screaming in excitement after she found out what was the third prize.

"Oh my god! Ayase-san, this is great!"

XXXXXX

"I wonder, was my readings finally wrong... or has it not come true yet...?" Nozomi muttered to herself, staring at a tarot card. "It's been ten years though... Maybe I was never meant to be hanged after all..."

"Nozoboobs, it's me." A series of knocks interrupted Nozomi's thoughts, and prompted her to hide the card under her paperwork. "I'm coming in."

"Nicocchi! What is it ya need from me, besides a raise?" Nozomi beamed, donning her usual peace-loving smile. Nicocchi frowned, and pulled out a bottle of vodka from behind her. "... What's the occasion?"

"Nothing really, just felt that you need it." Nico shrugged, placing the bottle on the table. "Where are the shot glasses?"

"... Back cabinet." Nozomi replied, sorting out her paperwork. "Nicocchi, seriously. Ya know I don't drink..."

"Yeah right, you still do." Nico scoffed as she pulled out two shot glasses. "If you don't then you wouldn't bother cleaning these, would you?"

"... Did ya lock the door?"

"Sure did." Nico started to pour the vodka into the two glasses, her eyes on the bottle. "What's eatin' at you?"

"... Ya still remember this card?" Nozomi asked, holding up the tarot card for Nico to see.

"Yeah, it's the Hanged Man right? I remember you pulled that one out from your sketchy deck of yours in high school." Nico chuckled, placing the bottle on the desk. "Why do you ask though?"

"I drew this card with this company in mind, an' I interpreted it as somethin' would go very wrong if I made any major decisions... yet so far we're still runnin'. Successfully if I may add." Nozomi explained, downing her glass.

"Well I dunno 'bout you, but I always thought that it's a sign that you need to have more confidence in yourself." Nico replied, sipping her glass. "Y'know, I always hated that self-hating part of you since high school. Also, you really need to get over your abandonment issues."

"... I don't deny the confidence part or the self-hating part, but I've long gotten over that _other_ issue..." Nozomi mumbled, pouring herself a second glass. Nico scowled, explicitly indicating her displeasure.

"No you haven't. If you did, you would know better than to strike up a sex-only relationship with Anju."

"... I was just lonely after we ended it..."

"Not 'we', Nozomi. _You_ ended it. You were the one who broke Eli's heart, even though the breakup was inevitable!" Nico slammed her fists on the table, her ruby eyes filled with anger. "You may have went through a hell lot, so what? Big freaking deal, Eli and I care about you sure, but the rest of the world don't. Your problems aren't gonna affect the world, it's only affecting _your_ world. So stop self-pitying yourself and get your damn act together!"

"Nico, ya don't understand what I'm going through at all." Nozomi's tone was cold, it would have frozen most people but Nico was never one of them. "It's easy for ya to spout nonsense when ya haven't went through the same thing as I did. So what if your dad died? He died when yer still young, but at least he loved you. Yer mom has practically one foot in the grave, but at least she loves ya. Yer three siblings are waitin' at home for ya to come home, they still love ya. If ya want to preach to me 'bout my issues, then wait for the day when they start to hate ya."

"... You're really messed up Nozomi. Of course I don't understand any of your bloody problems, but I'm trying to. Y'know what? I'm done trying to understand, obviously it ain't working out. I'll leave you to your self-pity." Nico growled, heading for the door. "Oh and this will be your first and last warning, but don't you _dare_ curse Mama."

"..." Nozomi simply stared at the tarot card in her hand, wincing as she heard the door slam close. "I'm right, I'm supposed to be hanged. Just that I've always been lookin' at the wrong noose..."

XXXXXX

"Oh Eli, where were you?" Umi asked, greeting Eli, Honoka, Erena and Anju. "You too Honoka, where the hell were you?!"

"Ahahaha... Long story actually. Anyways Eli-chan, you gonna break the news to 'em or you want me to do it?" Honoka laughed off Umi's worries, slapping Eli's back repeatedly.

"Um, well I participated in a raffle out of boredom and well... I won tickets to an inn in Uchiura? There's supposed to be an open hot spring at this place..." Eli said, opening the box. "One, two, three... Wow, now this is a coincidence."

"You guys are back nya! Honoka-chan! Did you get the popsicle that Rin asked for nya?!" Rin asked, bursting out from Maki's room.

"Even better, we're going on a trip to Uchiura!" Honoka smiled, gesturing to Erena and Anju. "And look at what our lovely colleagues got for us!"

"Since when we got them for you...?" Erena questioned, her hand holding a large cooler. "I can't believe I got a consolation prize..."

"Well you did say that the prizes get crazy for the legendary raffle..." Anju smiled reassuringly, her two hands securely holding two large plastic bags.

"I know... but how the hell did you get second?!" Erena snapped, wanting to hurl the cooler at her best friend but not wishing for the second prize to break.

"Did you say legendary raffle?" Nico asked, an irritated look on her features. "First her, now you..."

"What's wrong Nico? Oh and have you seen Nozomi? I need to explain why both Honoka and I are late for work." Eli asked, unaware of Nico's expression. Upon hearing Nozomi's name, Nico immediately lashed out at Eli.

"How the hell would I know?! Maybe she's at the bottom of a river, maybe she hung herself at Kanda Shrine! Hell, she may still be drinking your freaking vodka in the confines of her damn office!" Nico stormed off, stunning those who were present.

"What's Nico-chan's problem?" Maki asked, accompanied by Tsubasa and Hanayo. "Sheesh, first thing after recording is to see a pissed off pipsqueak."

"Now now, want to get dinner? It'll be the treat of those who participated in the raffle today~!" Tsubasa suggested, sending the participants a wink.

"Settle it with Erena and Anju, I'm going to find Nozomi." Eli replied, running off towards Nozomi's office. Once she arrived at the door of Nozomi's office, she originally settled for knocking but decided to enter unannounced. However as she tried to open the door, she realised that it was locked. "You have got to be kidding me... Nozomi! Open up! Didn't you say that you'll stop drinking?!"

"... Says the person who accompanied someone who claimed to stop gamblin'..." Nozomi's tired voice came through, it was faint but Eli could hear it loud and clear. "... So, what did ya win?"

"A trip to an inn in Uchiura. It can cover for all 12 of us, plus we don't have to give a single cent."

"..." The door slowly opened, revealing a drunk Nozomi. "When are we goin'?"

"Well... I was thinking of tomorrow, but it's a bit late so..."

"Okay, find someone apart from me to drive us to that inn first thing at 7.30 am tomorrow." Nozomi mumbled, slamming the door close. Eli blinked, this wasn't how she wanted to let Nozomi know about the trip, but the end justifies its means after all.

"Alright then..." Eli shrugged, walking back to the entrance where everyone but Nico and Nozomi were present. "Were there this many of us in the entrance just now?"

"Oh my god, are you implying that Kotori-chan is fat?!" Honoka gasped, pointing an accusing finger at Eli. "Y-You're horrible!"

"What?! No! Ah screw this, I'll text all of you the details later. Right now, pack up and go home. All of you." Eli ordered, dismissing Honoka's claim.

"Okay/Alright/Got it~!" Everyone left, apart from Maki and Hanayo. Maki glanced at Eli, and sighed as she made her way to Eli's side.

"I need to ask you a private question, come with me." Eli nodded, and allowed herself to be dragged off by Maki. Hanayo simply watched on, not knowing what was going on.

"I feel like I'm in a drama series... I didn't know that they have such a backstory... no, it sounds too much like a drama already..."

XXXXXX

Umi: What's with this chapter? It's getting more... dramatic by the second.

Eli: Yeah... We should focus more on how Maki is going to confess to Hanayo!

Maki: *Sputters*

Eli: Nice reaction Maki~

Umi: Hmm... So let me get this straight, the topic of tsundere came up due to a review, and now we have all sorts of pasts that Hanayo has to face in order to get to know them better? Seriously, what the hell.

Maki: Technically, I have to face the Toyawa crew's problems. And believe me, they're far worse.

Eli: I-I believe that Nico's is rather easy to comprehend?

Maki: True, but yours and Nozomi's are pretty messed up in their own way. Nozomi's probably the worst.

Umi: I've read online that the person who has the brightest smile is the most broken one, I didn't expect it to be true...

Eli: I do hope that our trip to the inn wouldn't be ruined...

Maki: We can find out in the next chapter, and also that's where we will be addressing the reviews.

Umi: Alright then, I think I'll need to lie down... *Leaves*

Maki: Me too. *Follows suit*

Eli: ... I swear, not all of us are messed up.


	10. Chapter 10

Nico: And here we are, Chapter 10 huh? Man time flies, how long have we been doing this?

Hanayo: It's been a year, since it was published around March 2016...

Rin: Nya~ You think it'll be like TDR?

Nico: ... I don't any of us wants to do this for two years...

Hanayo: Plus there's another story that Enya-san wants to do...

Rin: You mean the spin-off from that hate mail story she posted nya?

Nico: Honestly, I thought it was the last story that she owed lychee-ran years back.

Hanayo: Which ended up as a multi-chapter story too...

Nico: We can continue this speculation at the end of ths A/N. Let's do our job properly, for now that is.

Rin: Nya! Enya-chan doesn't own anything! Well, she's broke anyways and caring for us is expensive!

Hanayo: W-We aren't _that_ expensive Rin-chan...

XXXXXX

"Hey Eli, why do we need two cars?" Maki asked, staring at the two cars in front of her. One of the cars belonged to Eli, a blue Toyota Vios that was given to her for her 21st birthday. The other car was a red Volkswagen Touran, courtesy of Anju. Despite it being called Volkswagen Golf Touran in Japan, Anju had stressed that it should not be called as such. Not like most of them cared how it should be addressed, as long it functioned properly it'll do.

"We have 12 people, and I rather not incur an additional cost for renting a van." Eli replied, twirling her car keys. "I'm pretty excited actually, driving is quite fun."

"What about your leg?" Maki asked hesitantly, aware that Eli does not like to be reminded about the incident involving her right leg. "I mean... I don't doubt that it's not better since you're able to go on a jogging date with Honoka during Valentine's Day but still..."

"... Well, it's my knee that's the problem, not my ankle. Besides, it's been years since that incident. I'll be fine." Eli shrugged, making her way towards her car. She wasn't limping at all, and her legs was covered by a pair of pants so no one would even know about Eli's incident, but Maki knew that the mental scars Eli suffered were still there, and she feared that it may affect the ride to Uchiura that day.

"Maki-chan, is there something wrong?" Hanayo asked, a worried smile on her face. Maki shook her head, offering a pat on her crush's head. "E-Eh?!"

"Nothing's wrong, don't worry about it." Hanayo knew that something wasn't right, but hey if her crush said otherwise then why should she pursue the matter? Besides, she hated the idea that Maki would find her nosey.

"Since these two cars belong to Anju and Eli respectively, they'll be the drivers right?" Umi asked, staring at Anju's car with great interest. "Although... I didn't know you own a car Anju."

"That's because I don't. I borrowed it from my father, the perks of being from a rich family." Anju replied, tossing her car keys to Maki. "And no, I won't be driving this time. Maki-san will be one of our designated drivers of the day, I mean look at her!"

"Are you sure it's a good idea to let her drive?" Kotori asked, trying to pry Maki away from Anju's car. "Considering her driving skills... and Maki-chan, just because you like Anju-chan's car doesn't mean you should drive it..."

"Oh c'mon, what's the worst that can happen?" Kotori flinched as many horrifying images of large blocks of scrap metal being crushed into shapeless pieces flashed in her mind, a sickened look surfacing on her face. "Plus since Anju gave me permission, it means that I can drive right?"

"... Um, so who's gonna ride with you then?" Kotori shot a look at Nico, as though she was about to die. Nico started to tear up, which confused Maki greatly.

"Why are the two of you overreacting?! Sheesh, hay fever season is already over..." Maki sighed, oblivious at what Kotori was trying to hint to Maki. Behind Eli's car, Eli, Umi and even Nozomi were chanting a prayer while Tsubasa watched with a worried frown on her face.

 _'What is our seniors hiding that we don't know?!'_

XXXXXX

"Nico-chan... Why did you have to get Maki-chan?" Kotori sobbed, with Umi offering her friend a handkerchief. The group had decided to draw lots (thanks to Nozomi's intervention), and Nico was unfortunately placed at Maki's mercy.

"Don't cry Kotori, Nico wouldn't want to see you in such a pained state." Eli tried to comfort Kotori, stealing a glance at the car Maki was going to drive. She wasn't sure if Honoka was considered lucky to not know of Maki's 'impressive' driving, but either way she was going to find out one way or another. Right now, her top priority was to ensure that Kotori, Umi, Hanayo and Tsubasa made it to the inn safely.

"Tsubasa-san, do you know why are they acting so strangely?" Hanayo asked, leaning forward towards Tsubasa's seat.

"I have no idea, but for some reason Eli-san insisted that I should sit in front." Tsubasa replied, glancing at the side mirror on her side.

"It's to protect Hanayo." Eli said, sweating profusely. "We should get going now."

"I feel that this won't end well..." Umi commented, averting her eyes away from the window. Due to their seating positions, Kotori was given the middle seat so as to avoid seeing what happened behind while Umi and Hanayo were given window seats. Eli had wanted to give Hanayo the middle seat to ensure maximum safety, but Hanayo was eager to sit beside a window, so she decided to give it up to the next person who should be guaranteed of her safety.

"I agree." Eli replied, wincing as she heard a loud screech from behind. "... That was Maki right?"

"If you mean the car currently reversing into a pillar, then yeah." Umi rolled down the window screen, observing the vehicle behind them. "Oh and now Maki's speeding up."

"Shoot. Umi, should I let them overtake or try to keep them behind us?"

"Given the speed that they're at now, all 12 of us will be..."

"Then overtaking us it is." Eli said as she steered the car away from Maki's path, her hands gripping even more tightly on to the steering wheel as Maki overtook them. "You know what, maybe I should go beside them..."

"... I think I now know why you three reacted poorly towards Maki's intention to drive..." Tsubasa grimaced, covering her eyes as they witnessed Maki speeding past a red light.

"THERE'S A CAR BESIDE YOU!" Hanayo shrieked, with Kotori hastily covering Hanayo's eyes.

"Don't look Kayo-chan! Value your innocence!" Kotori begged, averting her eyes away from the front view. Unfortunately for Kotori, Hanayo decided to continue watching as seen when she pushed away Kotori's hands.

"MAKI-CHAN! THERE'S A SPEED BUMP AHEAD!"

"Hanayo, Maki can't hear you from here. And truthfully, she wouldn't listen to you..." Eli groaned, for it happened while she was personally teaching Maki how to drive a car. _'How did she even get her license anyway?!'_

"MAKI-CHAN! THERE'S A BOY WHO IS CROSSING!"

"Umi, has Maki ever killed someone on the road before?"

"Not yet, seeing that the boy managed to survive without getting hit."

"MAKI-CHAN, YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!"

"Oh, there's an incoming lorry on her lane." Eli commented, with Tsubasa noting that her eyes were dead. "I'm surprised that you haven't broke the fourth wall Tsubasa."

"Eli, shouldn't you be a bit more worried? Honoka's in there." Tsubasa asked, grimacing at the sudden swerve Maki just did. "And I'm more concerned about our safety than breaking fourth walls!"

"What can I do?! I mean, Nico has already done up a 'Help us' sign but it's not like I can save them!" Eli retorted, swerving away from a glass bottle.

"I don't know, contact one of the sane victims in there and try to get Maki away from the wheel?!"

"You do it then! I'm not allowed to do so while driving!"

"Fine, I- OH GOD, MAKI'S REVERSING AND SHE'S GOING TO HIT US!"

XXXXXX

"Haa... Well that was enjoyable." Maki remarked, stepping out of the car with a refreshed smile on her face. Eli copied Maki's action, though the smile was absent.

"For you maybe, but certainly not for us. Kotori even worried about Nico openly, and you know that she never does that." Eli pointed to Kotori, who was hugging the life out of Nico. "You even made Nozomi snap out from her trance!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Maki asked, staring at Nozomi, who was having trouble standing for more than a minute.

"N-No it ain't Maki-chan... Urgh... I haven't felt so sick since the time I ate soil meant for my plant years ago..." Nozomi groaned, collapsing to the ground. "Someone should report Maki-chan..."

"... Eating soil is very unhygienic..." Maki deadpanned, peeking into the car to note the conditions of her passengers. Both Honoka and Rin were foaming at the mouth, which Maki assumed that they enjoyed the ride very much. Anju and Erena were trembling with their eyes closed, with the latter sustaining a cut on her left cheek when Maki crashed into another car. Nico... well Kotori was crying over her safety so Nico probably suffered from severe motion sickness. Lastly, Nozomi was busy throwing up into the sea, the seaside air most likely didn't settle well with her. _'Well, I should check up on Erena's injury. How did she manage to get a cut when that blasted car cut into my lane...?'_

"You know, the first thing I'll tell tourists is to not vomit into the sea. But seeing the state of one of your cars, I'm just gonna ask whether you guys are alright." A girl with orange hair commented, holding up medicine for the people who were affected by Maki's driving.

"Thank you for the medicine, but we'll be fine." Eli bowed, expressing her gratitude to the girl. "Forgive me, but we're looking for this inn. Could you point us in the direction of this particular inn?"

"Sure thing! Lemme see... oh my mikans, someone _actually_ drew the package I sent to that legendary Tokyo raffle?!" The girl gaped at the tickets Eli held out for the girl to see. "My family runs this inn! Oh, where are my manners! Chika Takami, at your service!"

"Eli Ayase, please to meet you. It is rather fortunate to meet you right by the sea, though... why are you out here?" Eli asked, noting that they were actually outside Uchiura and not anywhere near the actual area itself.

"Oh that, I was collecting trash from the beach since we were free! Anyways, I'll lead you to the inn... but is that car still able to work?" Chika asked, pointing to Anju's car.

"Don't worry, it's just a little dented. Volkswagen are known to be super reliable, well if they're made in Germany that is." Maki shrugged, going back to the driver's seat. "Hey guys, squeeze in. Takami-san's gonna ride with us."

"W-What?!" The healthier ones exclaimed, trying their best to convince Maki otherwise. "No! You should take a break!"

"I never said that I was gonna drive... I mean, she's the one who's gonna lead the way so she has to drive." Maki replied, glancing at Chika. "... If she knows how to drive..."

"H-Hey! I just got my license recently! I can drive!" Chika protested, standing outside of Anju's car. "Well... better than the one who drove this car previously at least..."

"That is not at all reassuring. Nico, you think you could survive a ride to the inn in my car's boot?" Eli asked, dragging Maki out of the driver's seat. Nico nodded, deciding that if she must die, she would rather die in a car boot whose owner's a safe driver, rather than as a passenger of a dangerous driver. "Great, I'll do my best to let you out ASAP."

"... We could just squeeze you know..."

"Maki-chan, I'm not going to let you kill Nico-chan with your driving. I would rather let Eli-chan have that honour than you." Kotori proclaimed, going back into Eli's car.

"Since when are you in control over my life...?" Nico questioned as she climbed into the now open boot. As they went back into their respective cars, Chika was left contemplating whether her guests were anywhere near normal by society's standards.

XXXXXX

"It was sure kind of Takami-san to find us a tour guide around Uchiura." Umi commented, relaxing underneath an air conditioner. The 12 of them managed to get to the inn safely, thanks to Chika that is. "By the way Eli, how long are we going to stay in Uchiura?"

"A week. Besides, we technically own the company so we could take a break every now and then." Eli replied, stretching her arms. "Plus I decided that we should maximise the days listed on the tickets, as much as it means that Takami-san's inn will make a loss at our expense..."

"Well like what dad always said, business is about selling your soul just for money." Anju sighed, going over to where Umi was. "It's pretty hot... You think we could go swimming in the sea later?"

"After a certain _someone_ threw up in the sea, I think I'm afraid to do so." Nico commented, shooting a glare at Nozomi. Nozomi did not say anything, rather she ignored Nico which flipped the latter even more. "Oh so you're going with the passive-aggressive route right now huh? Fine by me!"

"Do I even want to know what's going on?" Tsubasa asked rhetorically, clearly not expecting an answer as she walked out of the room. "I'm going to explore around the inn."

"Rin's gonna follow Tsubasa-chan, she mentioned that she's gonna explore the inn nya!" Rin said, following after Tsubasa.

"... I think I'm going to take a walk around the inn too." Maki sighed, standing up. "Hanayo, what about you?"

"I think I'll do the same. We shouldn't bother the rest since they're tired after the d-drive..." Hanayo trembled upon remembering Maki's driving. Sure she liked Maki, but if possible she would rather not experience it first-hand like her colleagues.

"Good point, maybe we should take a look at the hot springs first." Maki said as she escorted Hanayo out of the room, leaving eight others in the room to do whatever they wish to do. It left a tense atmosphere in the room, given that it was now obvious that Nico and Nozomi weren't on good terms at the moment.

"... So Eli-chan, aren't you hot wearing pants?" Honoka asked, doing her best to relieve the tension. Sure, it was a bad topic itself but Honoka reasoned that it couldn't be any worse than the current situation. They were here to have fun, not to give each other wary looks.

"A little yeah, but I don't want too much attention on my legs..." Eli replied, her eyebrows twitching at the question but immediately picked up on the motive. "Besides, getting a sunburn is pretty bad. I had to bathe in aloe vera gel the last time I suffered from a sunburn."

"That bad huh? Anyways, do you guys wanna play Uno later? I brought them instead since I'm banned from playing any games related to gambling." Honoka suggested, holding up a pack of Uno cards.

"There are 12 of us though." Anju pointed out, holding up another pack of cards. "Well, we could always play 'Doubt It'. I brought two packs just in case one isn't enough."

"Isn't that another gambling game?" Umi asked, getting up. "You know Honoka isn't allowed to gamble... which she flouts it from time to time considering the fact that she participated in the raffle..."

"Now now Umi-chan, she only does so in moderation now." Kotori reasoned, calming Umi down. "Besides, Eli-chan was with her. She knows how to control Honoka-chan should she go out of hand."

"... I suppose, but... Well whatever, I brought the watermelon like I was asked to. Whose idea was it anyways?"

"Ehehe~" Honoka held up a metal bat, a broad grin on her face.

"So it was you Honoka... Fine, we can smash the watermelon later." Umi sighed, staring blankly at the rest. "... What should we do now?"

"What to do indeed..." Erena agreed, shuffling the cards Anju held in her hands. "For now, let's just play until one of them comes back. Or if Takami-san and the tour guide comes to fetch us."

"Sure, that's an idea anyways." Nico shrugged, with six others gathering around the table. "... Not gonna join us Nozomi?"

"... Don't really feel like it." Nozomi replied, slowly making her way out of the room. Eli stared at Nozomi's retreating figure, before shooting Nico a dirty look. Nico noticed, but chose to ignore it and wait for Erena to deal the cards.

 _'I know I was too harsh on Nozomi, but she really needs a reality check and I'm the only one who is willing to take up this damned dirty role of reminding her...'_

XXXXXX

"... I'm worried for Nozomi and Nico-chan." Maki casually remarked, throwing Hanayo out of the loop. "Things have been rough between them, and Eli's not helping."

"... Is it due to their horror movie preferences?" Hanayo asked, to which Maki shot her a puzzled look. "I-It was Umi-san's code name for their pasts..."

"Oh, that. Well... I'm not really in the loop regarding their relationship, but their past is pretty much known to us apart from Rin. And you I guess."

"Then why did Kotori-san and Umi-san try to hide it?"

"Hmm... Well Nico-chan's a strong person, so she doesn't mind sharing about her life. Nozomi and Eli are different, they don't like to relieve bad memories. Especially Nozomi, so we don't exactly tell it to everyone. In fact, A-RISE only knew about it quite recently and that was due to a leak from Kotori."

"Why did she leak it out?"

"Tsubasa noticed that Eli always covers her legs with something, and wanted to find out with the help from the other two. Kotori got wind of it, and decided to tell them about those two. The information she gave out was pretty vague and not enough for blackmail, but enough to put a halt to A-RISE's efforts to find out everything."

"It sounds like a drama series..."

"Agreed. Sometimes I wish that they just solve it once and for all. Well, Nico-chan's case is different from those two."

"Is it related to her mother?"

"Yeah, I'm guessing you met her when your dad got himself admitted to my family's hospital..."

"... Umi-san mentioned that Nozomi-san's parents left her when she was in high school." Maki eyed Hanayo, contemplating whether she should continue with the conversation or not. "She also said that Eli-san did ballet before."

"Just what has Umi been telling you? Ah fine, I wasn't planning on telling you this but given that you're one of us now, you _do_ have a right to know." Maki groaned, ruffling her scarlet hair. "Nozomi's parents left her when she was still in high school, and she was really affected by it. I mean, she loved them dearly but apparently they hated her a lot. More than mine when I ran away, at least mine are still trying to get me back..."

"Was that why she didn't talk much about her family?" Maki shook her head, sliding open one of the rooms. _'Maki-chan's parents are still trying to get her back huh? ... Wait a minute, then those two hanging outside Muse Studios could be... I think I should keep this to myself first, I don't want to send out the wrong info...'_

"She never liked talking about her parents even before they left her, according to Nico-chan at least. It was because they abandoned her that's why she's so paranoid about us leaving her emotionally."

"What about Eli-san?"

"She was from a famous line of ballet dancers from Russia, but she was terrible at it. Well, according to her at least. When she got into an accident years ago, it really ruined her career as a ballet dancer. It made her family hate her even more too, apart from her younger sister who loves her to bits even till today." Maki explained, sliding open another door. "Huh, I was expecting that we'll be at the hot springs by now."

"Maki-chan, do you know why did Nozomi-san set up Muse Studios with Eli-san and Nico-san?" Hanayo asked, sliding another door open. "Ah! The hot springs are over here!"

"Heya! Wanna join us?" Chika waved from the hot springs, a woman with short light-grey hair relaxing beside her. "Oh right, this is my friend You Watanabe! She's gonna be your tour guide for the day!"

"Hello! You Watanabe, at your service! When do you guys wanna start the tour?" You asked, saluting Maki and Hanayo. The duo stared at them in shock, not too sure how to answer them. That, and they were stunned to see Chika enjoying a soak when she was still on the clock.

"Uh... In an hour?" Maki was the one to respond, and even so she couldn't tear her eyes away from Chika's bust. _'Why am I surrounded by women with big boobs?! Well Hanayo's okay, it adds to her huggable charm but the rest are a different story!'_

"Alrighty~ For now, wanna join us?"

"N-No thanks!"

XXXXXX

"Doubt it!" Nico yelled, pointing her finger at Umi. Umi groaned in frustration, wondering to herself how was she always called out whenever she was lying. "Suck it Umi!"

"Why?!" Umi brought the pile of cards into her hand, gasping in shock upon seeing the cards. "Hey! You all lied too!"

"That's why this game is called 'Doubt It' Umi..." Eli sighed, placing a card of her own on to the floor. "Four."

"How is it possible to get caught when all we're doing is placing a card of a random number while calling out the number after the previous?" Kotori asked, placing her own card on to the discard pile. "Five!"

"No idea, six." Anju responded, placing one of her own on to the pile.

"Seven."

"Eight."

"Nine! And thanks to you jerks, it's actually a nine!" Umi declared, nearly making Erena and Nico facepalm.

"Well duh, we know. You pretty much took back three turns worth of cards, of course there's bound to be a nine in your current hand." Nico replied, motioning for Eli to deal out her card. "Eli, your move."

"Ten."

"Queen." Kotori placed a card on top of Eli's with Umi smirking as she did so.

"Doubt it!" Umi smiled triumphantly, a sparkle in her citrine eyes. "I took all of the queens in this game, there's no way that can be a queen!"

"Well..." Kotori started, flipping over her card to reveal the queen of spades. "I've been saving this card for a special moment, and I guess this is it?"

"N-No way..." Umi sobbed, sullenly pushing the pile towards herself. "At least let me win- hey! You guys lied again!"

"Shouldn't you expect it by now considering that we've been doing it for the past four turns?" Anju asked, an amused smile on her face. "King."

"Why would I?! And you're clearly lying too!" Umi argued, flipping over Anju's card. "Are you guys cheating?! Are you guys seriously cheating as I speak?!"

"Not sure about the rest, but I'm not." Erena shrugged, dealing her card. "Ace, take it at your own risk."

"Two, you can call me out if you want." Nico added, dealing out her card.

"T-Then I'll play a three..." Umi hesitantly played her card, shooting her opponents dubious glances.

"Four, you can call me out Umi. I mean, I'm going to pity you if you keep this up." Eli said, throwing her card on to the pile.

"Five, same here Umi-chan." Kotori offered, a serene smile on her face. "By the way, how long has it been since Honoka-chan went to the bathroom?"

"20 minutes, ignore her. Six, you should really call me out."

"Seven, are you _that_ afraid of taking risks?"

"Eight, we're all trying to help you out here Umi. I swear on the Yazawa name."

"No you guys aren't! You're all just mocking me! No way am I going to call out any of you guys again!" Umi declared, slamming her card on to the pile. "Nine! Accuse me if you dare!"

"... Doubt it...?" Eli said, with Umi immediately shoving the pile towards Eli. Eli flipped over Umi's card, revealing the nine of diamonds. "... I knew it really."

"You're too kind Eli-chan. Though, I've been playing the actual number too."

"Same here." Nico and Anju responded, turning to face Erena. "What about you Erena (chan)?"

"I was too. In fact, this is probably the first time all five of us aren't ganging up against Umi-san for once..." Erena commented, while Umi gaped in frustration and shock.

"So you guys _were_ conspiring against me after all!"

XXXXXX

"And that's how our game went." Erena said to Tsubasa, who was nodding in sympathy towards the scriptwriter. "Yeah yeah, we get it. We picked on Umi-san a little too much."

"A little?! How is _that_ a little?!" Umi cried out, pointing an accusing finger at Erena.

"Calm down Umi-chan, yer easy to tease after all." Nozomi reassured her younger colleague, though her eyes were far from Umi. "Ya just need to relax, an' keep a poker face."

"Easy for you to say Nozomi."

"It's really easy though? I mean, take a look at Nico. Just mimic her 'I'mma needin' the toilet' face." Nozomi casually replied, ignoring the dirty looks that Nico was giving her. "Or maybe her angry pipsqueak face would be an easier choice?"

"... I really want to hit her but I won't hit her because that will be too much even for me..." Nico gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to hurl her fist at Nozomi.

"M-Maki-chan, has relations between Nico-san and Nozomi-san gotten this bad before?" Hanayo whispered into Maki's ear, afraid that either Nico or Nozomi would hear her.

"Considering the fact that both of them stopped using the nicknames for each other, no it has never gotten this bad before." Maki replied, using the same tone Hanayo had used.

"Nya~ Honoka-chan, are you okay now?" Rin asked, noting that Honoka didn't look too good.

"I'm fine Rin-chan. Just... feeling the after-effects from Maki-chan's driving." Honoka whimpered in pain, unaware that she had suffered injuries from Maki's driving. "Did I fall out at one point or something? My stomach hurts..."

"That must be when Maki-san abruptly stopped and Nico-san's metal water bottle hit you." Anju explained, rubbing her left cheek. "I don't even want to remember the sharp curve on the way here... My car isn't made for sharp bends you know..."

"... Should I even ask what happened to you guys on your way to Uchiura...?" You asked, worriedly looking at the group. "Anyways, we're starting the tour with some diving! Any of you don't know how to swim?"

"We're all good." Eli replied, her gaze on a wooden building nearby. "Is the building behind you the diving shop you're bringing us to?"

"Haha... Cat's out of the bag huh? Yeah, Kanan-chan runs the place. She's really good at diving, plus she's nice!" Tsubasa, Erena and Anju looked at each other, as though they could communicate via telepathy.

"Hey Anju, remember when we were retrenched there were three others with us right? Was one of their names Kanan?" Tsubasa asked, staring at the building. "I get the feeling that we knew a Kanan whose family ran a diving business..."

"I-I think we do... Matsuura-san right?"

"Was she also sporting a long ponytail and liked to wear a swimsuit underneath her clothes?" Erena asked, her attention on a woman with navy-blue hair tied up into a long ponytail like what Erena has described. Tsubasa and Anju turned to the direction that Erena was looking at, their faces turning slightly pale. "I'm guessing that she's the Kanan we knew."

"What's wrong nya?" Rin asked, halting in her tracks as she realised that the A-RISE trio didn't share the same enthusiasm as the rest. Before the trio could respond, they were cut off by a friendly voice.

"Kira-san? What are you doing in Uchiura? Oh and I see that you're with Todo-san and Yuki-san, nice to see you three again!" Apparently, Kanan walked up to them as she had noticed the trio from her shop. "Been a while huh?"

"Wait, you guys know each other nya?!"

"Well yeah, I worked briefly at A-RISE Animations before it collapsed. They were my seniors, and they helped Mari and Dia out too." Kanan explained, laughing languidly. "Seems like you three are now with Muse Studios, Chika really loves the anime they produce."

"I've noticed." Tsubasa replied, remembering that one of the rooms had left the television switched on, playing Maki's and Hanayo's recent anime. "... Don't you hate us for indirectly causing A-RISE Animations to go bust?"

"Hmm... Not at all actually, you guys were the most affected among the six of us. Mari had her hotel chain to fall back on, Dia on the fishing industry and I had my family's business. Yuki-san was considered okay since her family supplied us with the gas tanks, but you and Todo-san had nothing. So, no, I don't hate nor blame you guys. Mari and Dia said the same thing too, that none of it was your fault." Kanan smiled, offering her hand. "Let's not talk about the depressing past, shall we go dive?"

"Given our current internal affairs, we'll be stuck in a negative cloud for quite a while." Tsubasa replied, accepting Kanan's hand while Erena and Anju ran into the sea, leaving Rin to stand by herself.

"What the heck just happened nya?"

XXXXXX

Nico: And we're ending it here? Seriously?! That's not even the whole thing!

Rin: Knowing her, she's gonna split this up into many parts nya. And where's the focus on Kayo-chin?!

Hanayo: I-I don't mind not being in the spotlight...

Nico: Dude, this story was created with you and Maki-chan in mind.

Hanayo: U-Um! Maybe we could address the current reviews first then worry about the story's direction later?

Rin: Good call nya.

 **TheNightStriker:** Sunshine was indeed good, and I'm totally looking forward to season 2. And while they have their hilarious moments, it's unfortunate to note that they have their own issues to iron out like this chapter and the previous. Thanks for reading it though.

 **Nyx Sigma ZERO:** Maki... Well, I'm never good at portraying Maki as a tsundere. I've mentioned that Maki has 'lost' her tsundere side in Chapter 9, but that is no excuse for going out of character, an excellent point that you've made. And regarding the Americanisation that you've mentioned, I don't see that they are being Americanised in any way. If I am correctly assuming that Honoka being a gambling addict is considered part of American culture, then I hate to say that it's neither the case not is it strange. Gambling is an issue that plagues every country, not just America. In fact, pachinko (which was what Honoka was addicted to at the start) originated from Japan and currently contributes to 4% of Japan's GDP. That is not to say that I'm dismissing you entirely, just that I would need more specific examples so that I can correct future stories. And yes, the key point of Kotori's and Nico's relationship in this story is to be 'odd' and completely incomprehensible from a third party's POV. Of course, in order to keep this reply as short as possible, I won't explain why I chose to do so. NozoEli is pretty hard to be separated, but even the best (well at least in the eyes of most of the fandom) pairing has its downsides like what this arc will tackle.

 **Aethuran:** Thank you for your kind words!

 **Tajshenay:** Thanks... I guess? Though I should inform you that I have zero plans to continue the UmiNico story years back since I've already labelled that as complete...

Nico: So... there's more that Enya wants to dig up? Man and I thought me giving Nozomi a wake-up call was terrible enough...

Hanayo: Sometimes, we have to revisit them no matter how painful they are.

Nico: *Sigh* I just hope that this is really for the best...

Rin: Rin doesn't get it nya. But whatevs, see ya next chapter! (Which should be up within a week...)

Nico: Hang on, what about the story's direction?! We're supposed to talk about it now!

Hanayo: We can leave it for the next pair to deal with right?

NicoRin: ... Hanayo/Kayo-chin, you're surprisingly good at dodging (nya)...


	11. Chapter 11

Honoka: You know, I never liked being with you and Nozomi-chan.

Kotori: Why is that?

Honoka: Cause it's a reminder that we don't have a group song! Like, there's Soldier Game, After School NAVIGATORS and what about us? The trio who slacks in a dark corner of a room the whole day?

Nozomi: Now now, we have our own charm ya know?

Kotori: I'm surprised you're out here, since you had already read the previous chapter...

Nozomi: Aw man, I wish HSR me would reconcile with HSR Nicocchi soon...

Kotori: Speaking of which... do we come from alternate universes or are we from the same one?

Honoka: I'm from the original anime!

Nozomi: I'm from RaP, what about ya Kotori-chan?

Kotori: Um... this universe's Kotori?

Honoka: Man this is complicated... Well fine, author doesn't own anything, English words are in bold yadda yadda and we're off!

Nozomi: Honoka-chan, ya should do it properly... if not it's washi washi time for ya~

XXXXXX

"It's the sea! Woohoo!" Honoka yelled as she and Rin proceeded to charge into the sea. After their tour, the group had decided to visit the sea as planned. Some people, like Honoka, Rin and Anju, were excited over the prospect of the sea while others like Maki, Eli and (un)surprisingly Nozomi, were... less enthusiastic over their visit to sea.

"It's just the sea, why are they so hyped up over it?" Maki questioned, shooting a look at Eli. "I'm surprised you chose to bare both of your legs..."

"Eh, what can I do? Honoka will definitely drag me in to play, so wearing long skirts are out for me." Eli replied, tugging on her jacket. "Which is why I opted for a simple hoodie that can cover me in case anyone notices me."

"That's a terrible solution Elichi. Either ya don't wear 'em, or ya sit this one out." Nozomi gave her own opinion, holding up a camcorder that was facing the direction of Kotori and Tsubasa.

"Why are you being like this Nozomi?" Eli asked, wishing that her best friend would give her an answer. She got what she wanted, but not in a straight way. And Eli hated answers that were ambiguous at best.

"Oh ya know, just summer heat gettin' to the best of us, fuelin' the volcano in our hearts, ya know the rest." Nozomi shrugged, walking off.

"... I think I need to lock Nico and Nozomi in a room together and pray hard that those two will make up." Eli groaned, mussing her hair out of frustration.

"That can easily be arranged later." Maki replied, lowering her sunglasses so that her eyes meet Eli's. "I'm sure Kotori and Anju will be more than happy to cooperate with you given the fact that everyone now knows that there's something going on between those two blockheads."

"Hanayo and Rin don't."

"Hanayo does now, thanks to a certain terrible liar and an ex-tsundere." Eli gave Maki a disturbed gaze, with Maki wryly smiling back. "You're welcome."

"Why the hell did you bring her into this?!"

"Not me, Kotori provided the base, Umi gave her the body and I simply decorated the cake."

"... What's her reaction to this?"

"Hmm... She asked me why did Nozomi set up the company with you two after hearing about it. I never really told her when you got yourself injured but given that your car was bought by your younger sister, I imagine that your injury was during high school."

"Now that you mention about it, Nozomi never really told us why did she want to enter the anime industry..." Eli looked back upon the past, and realised that not even she nor Nico knew why did Nozomi want to run a company in the anime industry. "What's Nico doing over there with Hanayo?"

"Hanayo, you look real cute in your swimsuit." Nico complimented, her signature twin tails now tied up in a low ponytail. "Not afraid that your bust will attract attention?"

"I-I... I-I think I can handle it..." Hanayo was blushing furiously, and covering up her chest while her eyes darted around to see whether there were any unwanted attention. "... Probably."

"Don't worry, if anyone starts hitting on you, I can protect you."

"T-That's a relief... Does this happen to you often though?" Hanayo asked, biting her tongue after realising what she had just said. _'O-Oh no, Maki-chan once said that Nico-san's chest size is one of her complexes...'_

"Nah, my bust size will only garner attention from a niche group of people that won't be usually found on beaches. It happens to Nozomi often though, she's surprisingly incapable at handling with the male species." Nico laughed, sending Eli a smirk. "Eli on the other hand, a cold glare from her piercing cerulean eyes was all it took to send them running!"

"I-I can hear you from here!" Eli yelled back, stomping over to Nico to give her ears a firm twist. "You're just jealous that no one looked your way!"

"Given the number of times Nozomi groped me, I can safely say that she has looked my way more than once." Nico retorted, thrashing about in Eli's firm grip. "And get your mitts off me! It bloody hurts y'know!"

"Tell me what happened to you and Nozomi yesterday! I'm not getting anything concrete out of Nozomi and I swear to harasho that if you don't tell me-"

"Okay okay! Don't get all murdery on me! I'll speak!" Nico pleaded, attempting to loosen Eli's grip on her ears. Eli immediately complied, dropping Nico to the sand (since she was lifted up in the process). "O-Oh man, can't believe they went through such torture..."

"Yeah yeah, speak already." Eli dismissed Nico's concern, glaring at Nico. "You better tell me the truth, or so help me I'll hit the nico nico daylights out of you."

"Okay! Sheesh, I gave her a reality check! I told her that she's still harping over her abandonment issues, and that she broke your heart when you two broke up!" Nico admitted, standing upright despite Eli's looming figure. It sucked being short, and Nico knew that feeling too. "Then Nozomi lost it and started insulting my family, which then I kinda sent her a threat."

"... What the hell...? Why- Gah, forget what I wanted to say. What started this conversation anyways?" Eli groaned, glancing at Nozomi, who was recording Honoka and Rin.

"I entered her room because I felt that she may need a drink... and the conversation escalated when she showed me one of her tarot cards." Nico bit her lip, averting her eyes from Eli. "Well, not like it really mattered. I asked what was bugging her, and I would have pursued the matter if she didn't tell me the truth."

"... Nico Yazawa, you-"

"I know I know, I'm at fault too. But I really wanna make up with Nozomi, it really doesn't feel the same y'know?"

"Not that. Why did you even offer Nozomi a drink? I'm going to guess that you got the alcohol from my stash, but you know that Nozomi is a recovering alcoholic!"

"... She never once stopped actually." Nico mumbled, wishing that she wasn't having this conversation with Eli. "Look, I'm sorry that I hurt Nozomi again and I know that she still means the world to you in a platonic way, but somebody has to do the dirty work alright?"

"... What you need to do is to apologise under the context that Nozomi knows that she has some fault to play too. I'll... I'll help you solve your own mess, partly because I'm the reason that this ever happened. But in the future, tread carefully."

"You know I hate being considerate for others just so that they can live in a sweet lie."

"Nico, remember the time that you ruined Maki's Christmas that Santa doesn't exist?" They turned their heads to Maki, who was trying her very best to flirt with Hanayo. Key word being 'trying'.

"S-Say Hanayo, y-you look lovely in that swimsuit." Maki said, trying her very best to smile normally (and not her usual condescending smile that she liked to use).

"Really? I'm so glad, Nico-san told me that I look cute in it! I'm really glad that I don't look weird in it..." Hanayo breathed a sigh of relief, causing Maki to blush harder than she ever had. "Maki-chan? Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. Sunburn. Thanks to you." Maki fumbled for an explanation, tripping over her words in the process. "Y-You look great without your glasses."

"Aw, thank you Maki-chan! You look handsomer with your hair tied up!" Hanayo, seemingly oblivious to Maki's attempts to flirt with her, complimented. Nico and Eli shook their heads, pitying Maki.

"Man, Maki-chan sure sucks at flirting. Did ruining her Christmas had such an impact on her?"

"I doubt it... but I think it was at that point that Maki started being honest to herself..."

XXXXXX

"Well that was refreshing... if shooting water out from water guns into our eyes and swinging a metal bat around wildly can be considered refreshing that is!" Umi gritted her teeth, sending chilling glares towards Anju, Kotori, Honoka, Rin and even Tsubasa. "I'm very disappointed in you Tsubasa."

"We're at a beach for crying out loud! It's summer you hear? S-U-M-M-E-R!" Tsubasa retorted, pointing a finger at Nozomi. "Should you be calling Nozomi-san out?! She was filming us the whole time! That's voyeurism right?!"

"I ain't doin' voyeurism. I'm makin' summer memories yan~" Nozomi shrugged, a flippant smile on her face. "Speakin' of memories, it reminds me of the time where two lovers did it in the hot spring..."

"... Why are you guys looking at us...?" Kotori asked, noticing the stares on her and Nico. "We didn't do it in a hot spring."

"Yeah, so stop looking at us like-" Nico agreed, but was soon cut off by Kotori's continuation.

"We did it in a closet."

"Oh my god, have some decency!" Nico blushed, slapping Kotori numerous times. The remaining ten decided to ignore them (apart from Nozomi who chose that occasion to record), and plan out what they should do next.

"It's 5.24 pm, what are the activities we could do now?" Maki stated, glancing at the clock.

"What about going into the hot springs? Matsuura-san mentioned that she liked to take a dip with Takami-san and Watanabe-san around this time." Tsubasa suggested, tugging on her t-shirt. "Besides, I think we all could use a relaxing dip into the hot springs."

"Then that's settled." Erena declared, stripping down to her birthday suit. "Let's go."

"Erena, I love you and all, but please have some decency." Tsubasa groaned, averting away from her girlfriend. "Put on a yukata at least."

"Why? It's hot, and I want to take a bath. It's logical for me to be naked now right?" Erena replied, a serious look on her face. "I'll head on first then."

"E-Erena! Wait!" Tsubasa begged, only for Erena to exit the room without anything to cover herself with. "You'll get reported for public indecency!"

"Haa~ Tsu-chan's off to chase after her stripper girlfriend." Anju remarked, a teasing smile on her face. "Those two are like a comedy duo, they fit each other so perfectly."

"You should really be more concerned Anju." Umi remarked, sighing as she started to unpack her luggage. "Well, since they're off to the hot springs, shall we follow them as well?"

"Yeah! Afterwards, let's go play with some fireworks!" Honoka cheerily agreed, stripping down to nothing but her birthday suit much to Umi's chagrin. "Rin-chan, race ya to the baths!"

"Nya! See ya at the baths Kayo-chin!" Rin ran off with Honoka, also in the nude. Maki wondered to herself how did Hanayo managed to stay friends with Rin for so many years considering that Hanayo herself was covering her eyes from Rin's stripping session.

"S-Shameless! Kotori! Did you just see what Honoka just did?" Umi asked, turning to face Kotori but was instead met with a make out scene. "K-K-Kotori?!"

"O-Okay, I think this is our cue to give them some privacy..." Eli gently nudged Umi out of the room, a furious blush on her face. "Nozomi, stop filming them already."

"Eh~ But it'll make a good sex tape!"

"Nozomi, please."

"Then I can sell it to Kotori-chan for her personal use!"

"Nozomi, I don't want to know why Kotori wants her own sex tape but you should leave. Like, leave it to film while you miss out on the action." Maki advised, shoving Hanayo out of the door. "And you're destroying Hanayo's innocence."

"Oh **nice body** ~" A voice came from around the corner, followed by a shriek.

"That sounds like Ohara-san! She's here too?" Anju noted with surprise, exiting the room only to find a naked blonde-haired woman dripping with water. "Yup, it's indeed Ohara-san... and looks like Umi-san fainted..."

"... We're surrounded by shameless people aren't we?" Maki commented, pitying Hanayo who had to witness the sight.

XXXXXX

"Are you sure you're okay? You were lying in a pool of blood just now..." Maki asked, referring to Umi's anaemic complexion. Umi nodded, glancing away from the person that had caused her blood loss.

"I-I'll be fine. Ohara-san just shocked me." Umi muttered, glancing at said woman. "... She has a nice body indeed..."

"Don't mind Ohara-san, she's just like Erena." Tsubasa dismissed Umi's worry, glaring at Erena. "Erena on the other hand..."

"Ahahaha, Kira-san you're sure as strict as last time!" Kanan grinned at Tsubasa, jerking a thumb at a woman beside her. "You're just like Dia really!"

"Excuse me?! Kanan-san, what do you mean by _that_?!" The woman beside her, who had straight black hair, turquoise eyes and a beauty mark on her right chin, questioned, shooting Kanan threatening looks. "If anything, Kira-san is far more unreasonable!"

"Tsubasa, what did she mean by that?" Maki asked, curious about Tsubasa's life at A-RISE Animations. "For all I know, you're pretty docile."

"W-Well... I used to yell at people when they goof off while recording... O-Of course I don't do that now!" Tsubasa weakly replied, wishing that she could crawl up into a hole and live the rest of her life in there.

"Huh? That's all? I thought you'll do something far worse, plus you're still doing that to Honoka and Rin actually." Maki shrugged, pouring a cup of sake (that was in a floating bucket) for herself. "Hanayo, do you want some?"

"Um... Maybe I'll drink later when the rest bring out the alcohol." Hanayo replied, searching for Nozomi. Eventually her eyes managed to locate Nozomi, who was with Eli. _'I wonder what are they talking about...? I should go closer...'_

"Hanayo?" Maki realised that Hanayo was going closer to Nozomi and Eli, and feared that she may worsen the situation. "H-Hanayo! Wait!"

"What is it Maki-chan?"

"You shouldn't make yourself so obvious. Whatever Nozomi and Eli are talking about... it's bound to be really private. We shouldn't interfere." Maki said, gently pulling Hanayo away from them. "Besides, you should take the time to relax. N-Not that I'm worried that you're over-stressed or anything."

"Oh Maki-chan, you're so considerate."

"W-What?! N-No I'm not worried at all! Really!"

"Hehe, thank you for worrying about me. Why don't we both go and relax at that corner?" Hanayo pointed to a secluded section of the pool, already seeing past Maki's words. "I think that we should spend some time basking in peace from time to time, don't you agree?"

"I-I... uh, yeah. That'll be nice." Maki fumbled for a proper response, hoping that Hanayo wouldn't notice her blushing face was not due to the heat. _'T-This is a date right? A hot spring date like how those visual novels turn out right?! Am I really experiencing it?!'_

"Seems like Maki-chan's gonna get herself laid soon~" Nozomi smirked, ignoring Eli's displeasure. "Hanayo-chan sure is bold when makin' the moves huh?"

"Nozomi, don't try to run away from the topic." Eli sighed, she had already expected this yet going through with the actual thing was still troublesome. "What exactly triggered you? Was it the topic of your parents?"

"..." Nozomi kept quiet for a brief moment, before going back to her usual self. "Do ya think that Honoka-chan an' Rin-chan are unconscious even as we speak? They tend to push themselves, don't ya agree Elichi?"

"Nozomi. I want an answer, please stop running away." Eli curtly replied, obviously not in any mood to play along with Nozomi. Nozomi blinked, then gave Eli a hard look.

"... It doesn't really matter, does it?" Nozomi coldly replied, startling Eli with her words. "Our friendship is already over the day we had that conversation."

"This is what Nico hates about you, you always blow things out of proportion when in reality it can be solved if you just _asked_. I dislike that part about you Nozomi, why do you always think that everyone is out to get you?" Eli huffed, discovering what was the real problem between Nozomi and Nico. "... It was our breakup that led to this right?"

"...!" Nozomi flinched, suddenly treating Eli as though she was a threat. Well, she was indeed a threat in a way. Either way, she started moving away from Eli but Eli wasn't going to let Nozomi escape her.

"I'm right, aren't I? Look Nozomi, we've broken up. We can't be together, and you know it. We have to move on, and I'm not saying this because I like Honoka now. We can't keep on living in the past Nozomi, and there are some things that just can't happen no matter how hard we try."

"... The past is more comfortin' though..." Nozomi sullenly replied, as though Eli had forced a hot poker down her throat just to get an answer out of her. "Ya know that I need ya, I know that I hurt ya before, but I still need ya Elichi."

"... No one needs each other in this world, relationships are not symbiotic. We can depend on each other yes, but going as far as to base our survival off the relationship with someone is wrong Nozomi. Do you understand? I don't mind that you depend on me, but for you to rely on me for your survival is too much."

"Yer the only one I have! Yer the only one that wouldn't ditch me, not even if I have dependent personality disorder!"

"Wait, you have a mental problem too?! I thought Nico and I are the only ones to have something wrong with us!"

"Well I don't know really, but I looked it up on the net last time when we were datin'."

"Damn it Nozomi, don't say things that aren't true!"

"Look Elichi, point is that I need ya in my life!"

"Nozomi! I _am_ in your life! Just that I'm no longer dating you, that time is long gone Nozomi. I've moved on, and I won't look back. You should move on Nozomi, there's someone that loves you _now_ right?" Nozomi turned to Anju, who had noticed Nozomi looking at her and sent a smile back at the co-owner.

"... I don't deserve An-chan. I never did. I'm a fool to fall in love with her. I'm a fool to fall in love with _anyone_." Nozomi started to sob, which honestly worried Eli because one, she wasn't equipped with the necessary skills to comfort someone who may or may not be on the verge of a breakdown and two, she wasn't sure how to deal with Nozomi of all people. With a nervous glance, she beckoned Anju over to their side and prayed hard that she would be able to solve the problem at hand.

"Anju, can you hear Nozomi out? I'm not the one who should be with her right now, but promise me that you won't freak out after hearing what she wants to say." Eli whispered, not wanting Nozomi to notice that Anju would be taking Eli's place. Anju nodded in confusion, pulling Nozomi in a loose hug while listening to whatever Nozomi had to say. "Thank you, I'll buy you that cheese pudding you always wanted when we get back to Tokyo."

"I'm sorry. No wonder we had to breakup. I'm too toxic." Nozomi continued, speaking in short and brief sentences. This worried Anju greatly, for she had no knowledge of the conversation Eli had with Nozomi prior to her arrival. Anju continued to hug Nozomi, whether Nozomi wanted her there or not was an issue that they could settle afterwards.

 _'It's okay Nozomi-san. I'll always be here for you, no matter what.'_

XXXXXX

"I wonder if it's really alright of me to leave Nozomi with Anju..." Eli sighed, she was starting to regret her decision. She never knew that Nozomi felt this way, and if it weren't for Nico... _'No! Stop it Eli! Nozomi's going to be fine! She's going to be fine, we can always get her the help that she needs. Absolutely fine, nothing's going to happen to her. Stop thinking about what happens if we allowed this to continue Eli, she's going to be fine.'_

"Eli." Nico said, apparently done making out with Kotori. Eli turned to Nico, a hesitant look in her eyes. "... I don't like the look on your face."

"Well... let's just say that Nozomi's having a mini breakdown as we speak." Eli admitted, ruffling her hair with a towel. "... I suppose I should have attended the psychological health talk back in high school huh?"

"... Is she hitting people right now?" Nico asked, undressing herself as she waited for an answer.

"No, just... just spilling out whatever she really thinks." Eli mumbled, hoping that Nico wouldn't lash out at her the next second.

"Ah then that's perfectly alright. Anyways, who's she with right now?" Nico asked, surprisingly calm much to Eli's surprise. "... You _did_ leave her with someone right? Cause if you didn't, I'm gonna hit you."

"I left her with Anju. Considering the fact that they're dating, she has a right to be with her now when Nozomi needs somebody the most." Eli replied, starting to dress herself. "I just hope that Anju's really taking it in with an open mind..."

"Meh, it can't be anywhere near bad. Anju really loves Nozomi anyways, so I'm sure she'll be there for her. The problem we have to concern ourselves with will be Nozomi..."

"Uh... sidetracking over here but where's Kotori?" Eli asked, not seeing the lead designer anywhere.

"She's in the sauna, think I saw Honoka and Rin in there with Takami-san." Nico shrugged, making her way towards the hot springs. "This is really a big step forward, thanks Eli."

"... Sure?" Eli blinked, she wasn't sure if she had actually solved the situation, but if Nico was satisfied with what she had done then maybe they wouldn't have to allocate them to a room like what Maki had suggested earlier.

XXXXXX

"Hey guys, dinner will be serve in an hour. You think you guys can hold out till then?" Chika asked, scribbling down a string of numbers and words on a scrap of paper and giving it to Eli afterwards. "Here's the address to a cafe that opens until really late. There's music, magic tricks and a library beside it!"

"Thanks for the recommendation Takami-san, and don't worry about the dinner. We can wait until then." Eli said, turning to the others once Chika had left the room. "So guys, what should we do?"

"... Nicocchi and I will head on down to that cafe Takami-san told us about." Nozomi informed Eli, prying the scrap of paper out of Eli's grip. "We have some things to iron out."

"Uh yeah, we do indeed. You guys can start without us." Nico nodded, following Nozomi out of the room. The remaining ten blinked, not expecting such a development.

"It actually worked...? Well whatever, back to the question. What do you guys want to do?" Eli asked again, a relieved smile on her face after seeing Nozomi and Nico getting along again.

"Doubt Umi again?" Erena suggested, earning herself a pillow to the head. "Guess not huh?"

"Then something tame like 'Two Truths and a Lie'? Would that work for you Umi-chan?" Kotori suggested, earning herself a nod from said person. "Hooray!"

"Why do I get hit while Kotori-san gets acknowledgement?" Erena grumbled, glaring at Kotori intensely. "Fine, I bet Eli-san will say something like along the lines of it being good team bonding exercises."

"Uh... Well it can test our knowledge to see if we really know everything about each other?" Eli replied, blinking at Erena's comment. "So, who's going to start?"

"Me!" Honoka's hand shot up, eager to start the game. "Uh... Okay got it! I like bread, I've never played Russian Roulette before and I like strawberries dipped in white chocolate!"

"Russian Roulette." Six of them responded in unison, leaving Eli, Kotori and Umi to mull over Honoka's choices.

"You dislike white chocolate, so I'm going to go with the last one." Kotori said, a smile on her face. "Nico-chan likes it though, but it's too sweet for me."

"Kotori is right, you spat out the white chocolate that I specially made for you years ago." Umi sighed, folding her arms. "That was very rude of you by the way."

"I know for a thing that you like bread and while I don't know about the chocolate bit, I _do_ know that you've played Russian Roulette before. So yeah, the chocolate part is a lie." Eli explained, causing Honoka to earn death glares from Umi. "I take it that Umi doesn't know about that bit..."

"Damn right she doesn't. Anyways, I was lying that I like strawberries dipped in white chocolate." Honoka confessed, a sheepish smile on her face. "I kinda got myself into some trouble with the yakuza and yeah, took a gamble with our lives on the line and their boss died?"

"That was very dangerous and stupid even for you Honoka. But since you're still with us, I'm not going to scold you." Umi sighed, shaking her head in admonishment while Kotori, for unknown reasons, paled. "For now that is."

"Okay moving on folks! Next up, Umi-chan!" Honoka hurriedly ignored Umi's expression and declared her the next person to play. _'Oh this will be really easy to guess, since she sucks so bad at lying.'_

"W-What?! Fine, I wear reading glasses occasionally, I got my ears pierced three years ago, and one of the two things I've said is a lie." The group simply deadpanned at Umi's choices, including Hanayo and Kotori. "O-Oh come on! Not you too Hanayo!"

"... Welp, I'll say that one of them being a lie is a lie itself." Honoka shrugged, choosing her answer. Kotori and Maki nodded, with the latter not too sure whether it was an attempt to confuse them, or it was really a lie like what Honoka had claimed.

"I've seen you with glasses when you're rewriting the script, so the piercings should be the lie." Erena said, staring at Umi intensely. "... You do know that one of them has to be a lie right?"

"W-What?! One of them _is_ a lie!"

"Considering how bad you were at lying just now... who knows?" Umi was outraged at Erena's claim, she wasn't _that_ bad at lying... right?

"... How bad is your eyesight?" Eli asked, observing Umi's movements. She had noted that Umi squinted a lot, and was trying to attract attention to her ears by playing with them.

"You mean the prescription? Around 100? It isn't that bad really." Umi replied, taken aback by the sudden question.

"I see. Then I'll say that you wearing glasses occasionally is the lie." The rest nodded along with Eli, with Umi collapsing to the floor in disappointment. "I knew it."

"H-How...?! I never once said anything about the glasses..." Umi groaned, upset that she was unable to lie convincingly.

"W-Well, you were squinting throughout. So I figured that the truth is that you need glasses constantly." Eli replied, which soon turn to confusion as Umi jumped about in joy. "U-Umi?!"

"Yes! I fooled you all! Woohoo!" The nine of them blinked, Umi wasn't acting like her usual self and honestly, it scared them. Umi noticed their concern mixed with fear, and explained to them the reason for her reaction (calmly of course). "I-I apologise. The truth is that I don't need them, and I wore glasses for fashion purposes."

"E-Eh?! Then why do you squint so often?" Tsubasa asked, noticing how Umi squinted during work, especially towards Honoka and Rin. "And since we're on this topic, why do you wear glasses for fashion? You're already fashionable enough without them..."

"I-I do that for intimidation... Honoka and Rin tend to goof off so I squint at them to cower them into submission..." Umi admitted, averting her eyes away from Honoka and Rin. "... And I overheard Rin telling Maki that she liked women who wore glasses... so I thought wearing them would garner Rin's interest..."

"U-Umi-chaaaaaan! You're too cute nya!" Rin squealed, tackling Umi to the floor. "Rin loves you a lot nya!"

"I'm glad that Rin-chan has someone to spend her time with." Hanayo smiled, which made Maki's heart skip a beat. _'Never knew that Rin-chan likes women with glasses... hang on, does that mean...? Nah, Rin-chan only sees me as a BFF!'_

"R-Right, plus Umi will be sure to rein Rin in line..." Maki commented, averting her eyes towards Honoka. "Hey Honoka, who's gonna go next?"

"Huh? Hmm... How about..."

XXXXXX

"Well that was surprising, who knew that Tsubasa bullied animals before..." Tsubasa groaned, regretting the truth that she had provided. She should have gone with what Umi went with, admitting that one of her truths was actually a lie.

"Maki, stop it already."

"Oh come on, it's too surprising to not mention! Hating milk is one thing, but bullying animals is plain wrong." Maki sighed in a mocking tone, irritating her coworker. "By the way, why did you lie that you're religious?"

"I was out of options damn it! What the hell can I lie about?!"

"You can always say that you're a virgin." Erena offered, earning herself a smack on the head. "What?! You wanted a lie that no one would believe right?!"

"Uh, isn't that obvious? I mean, Tsubasa seems like the popular type who lost her virginity in high school or something."

"Maki, I lost it recently. With Erena." Tsubasa admitted, resisting the urge to rip the smug grin off her girlfriend's face. "Erena, don't step over the line."

"Right right. By the way, who's left?"

"Kotori if I'm not wrong." Eli replied, staring at the clock. "The food sure is taking quite a while..."

"Fish needs to be treated with delicacy." Umi explained, nearly delving into a conversation about it.

"Umi, fish is a staple food of Russia and as far as I know, it doesn't need to be treated _that_ delicately." Eli deadpanned, her line of sight now on the door. "Forget the food, how long is the make up session going to take?"

"Well Ruby-chan's cafe is quite interesting! I mean, there's magic, classy music that's not the weird dubby-thingy and a freaking library beside it!" Chika popped her head into the room, carrying a large plate filled with assorted sashimi. "There's more by the way, You-chan's helping me carrying the food!"

"What is the weird dubby-thingy you're talking about?" Hanayo asked, her eyes sparkling as You arrived with huge bowls of rice.

"Probably dub-step. I highly doubt a place isolated from the city would have something as modern as-" Maki's words were left unfinished as it was cut off by electronic music. More specifically, a mix of heavy metal, techno and what Maki described later as 'rough beats'. "... Okaaaay so Uchiura is modern enough to have dub-step."

"Mari-san! How many times have I told you to keep that newfangled racket down to a minimum?!" Dia yelled, her turquoise eyes filled with rage as she nearly threw a pot filled with steaming hot soup at another room (most likely the one Mari is residing in).

"Uh... yeah, where were we?" Chika decided to ignore Dia and helped You with the dishes, with Eli expressing her gratitude on behalf of Muse Studios. "A-Anyways, if you need anything just holler! Have a good night!"

"Wow, that's a lot of food." Nico entered the room, whistling at the spread. Nozomi poked her head into the room, her eyes lighting up at the sight of yakiniku.

"Yakinikuuuuu!" Nozomi immediately charged towards the plate that had the meat, stroking the plastic edge tenderly. "Mama's here..."

"Dude, you could've just said that you wanted that. No need to do a 100 metre dash..." Tsubasa sighed, opting for lobster instead. "Sheesh."

"So, what were you losers doing when we were out?" Nico asked, sitting in between Eli and Hanayo.

"Two Truths and A Lie. You?" Eli asked, her chopsticks locked in a battle with Umi's. "Umi, can you please let me have that sashimi already?!"

"No. I will not let you have the yellowtail!

"Come on, there are other yellowtails!"

"I want to have the one that you stole from me!"

"S-Stole?! Now listen here Umi-" Eli's words were cut off by Nico, her arm covering the fish and soon splitting into two. "H-How did you?!"

"That's what we did at the cafe. That magician sucked big time." Nico smirked, eyeing the hotpot. "Oh, there's beef in it! Awesome~"

"Nicocchi, Yohane-chan wasn't half bad at all. Stop saying that she sucks already." Nozomi said, glaring at Tsubasa warily.

"Oh by the way Kotori-san... what were the truths and the lie that you would tell us if we weren't interrupted?" Anju asked, distancing herself from her noisy co-workers, opting to eat silently with Hanayo, Maki, Kotori, Erena, Honoka and Rin (much to Anju's surprise that the last two could shut up and enjoy a peaceful dinner).

"Huh? Oh um... I can tap dance, hold my breath underwater for 40 seconds and I have a tattoo?"

"... You know, if you want to lie about something, at least make it convincing."

"But I am though?" Anju sighed heavily, confusing Kotori. "What did I say wrong?"

"You didn't say anything wrong Kotori, just that the truth is shocking." Nico said, chewing on her beef. _'Was Kotori able to dance the Viennese Waltz... or was it ballroom dancing?'_

XXXXXX

"Hey Nozomi, can I talk to you for a bit?" Eli asked, leaning on the door frame. "Sorry Anju, I know you want to cuddle with Nozomi here but-"

"It's fine, just don't go making out with her." Anju replied, in fact she pushed Nozomi out of the room in a hasty manner. One would assume that Anju was attempting to do something illegal but hey, doing something illegal was considered a norm among the co-workers.

"So Elichi, are ya goin' to strip right here in the middle of the hall?" Nozomi asked, grinning at a passing Chika. "Well it's okay if yer an exhibitionist like Erena-chan an' Ohara-san ya know, I ain't gonna judge."

"W-What?!" Eli sputtered, her plans going out of the window. "No! I want to have a serious talk with you Nozomi!"

"Serious eh? Well, no surprise to what the topic's gonna be. Lemme guess, it's regardin' me an' Nicocchi right?"

"Yeah. I'm glad that things worked out for you two, if not we'll be executing plan B..."

"Welp, it's time for me to start lettin' things go anyways. Can't keep them all with me for forever ya know."

"What's with the sudden change in opinion though? You were rather adamant in staying in the past just now..." Eli had to know the answer, she had never seen anyone that could change so easily within a few minutes.

"I always thought that I have a chance with ya, but you seriously slapped me hard."

"H-Hey! I didn't slap you!"

"Take a chill pill Elichi, ya know what I mean." Nozomi reassured Eli, her smile never leaving her face. "An-chan was tenderly holdin' me when I stopped blubberin' like a damn fool, holdin' my boobs really but I ain't one to mind."

"Uh... sure? So uh... wait, what did I want to say?" Eli blinked, losing her track of mind. "Okay well never mind, since it's all settled I guess there's nothing for me to really say. Have a good night Nozomi."

"Yep!" Nozomi waved Eli off, practically skipping back into her room. "An-chan, what are ya doin'?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just scrolling the chat we're all in." Anju said, looking up from her phone. "Aw nuts, looks like it's back to work for me tomorrow..."

"Hm? Why so?"

"Let's see... Nico-san asked me to take pictures of the sea before the sun rises, and Kotori-san wants to sketch out the cafe you went just now."

"Ya sound like an errand girl huh?" Nozomi teased, with the latter pouting. "Alright, won't tease ya anymore. I'm gonna get some shut eye, see ya later~"

"Urgh... The sun will rise in three hours time! Nico-san, Kotori-san, you two are unbelievable!" Anju whined, stomping out of the room with Nozomi's camcorder.

XXXXXX

Nozomi: Aw right, happy end!

Honoka: And it's back to work for Anju-chan huh? Geez, you guys are on a holiday, lighten up a little!

Kotori: Uh, we're actually already behind time. Besides, it's not every day that we get to observe a beach scene up close...

Honoka: I miss my Kotori-chan... she's not like Umi-chan at all!

Kotori: I-I have a job now... and I certainly don't act like Umi-chan!

Nozomi: By the way, what was the lie?

Kotori: Eh?

Nozomi: In the story, ya played the game with the rest right? What was the actual lie?

Honoka: Isn't it the tattoo thing? Like how can she-

Kotori: I can't tap dance actually, I can dance the Viennese Waltz though!

Nozomi: See Honoka-chan, ya should pay attention to the story yan!

Honoka: Y-You're a rebel Kotori-chan! A rebel!

Kotori: E-Ehhhh?!


	12. Chapter 12

Tsubasa: You know... don't you think that we're _always_ together when it comes to the A/N?

Anju: Kotori-san has a tattoo?! Where?!

Erena: Hmm... I don't know, ask Nico-san?

Anju: Oh my god, she's such a delinquent!

Erena: You're just too conservative...

Tsubasa: Are you two listening?!

Anju: Yeah yeah, so what? We're A-RISE after all, it's natural for us to stick together!

Erena: Yup, we're always seen together in the anime after all.

Tsubasa: This isn't the anime! Ah whatever, the author doesn't own anything and I can't be bothered to deal with this now.

XXXXXX

"Achoo! Urgh, it's cold..." Anju shivered as she snapped pictures of the rising sun, her fingers trembling due to the cold temperature. "Achoo! Damn it..."

"Yuki-san, you're gonna catch a cold in this rate." Kanan said, draping a towel over Anju's shoulders. "Here, I haven't started my run yet so it's not sweaty."

"T-Thank you Matsuura-san..." Anju sniffed, the sea breeze was really getting to her. "It's five in the morning though, do you always run this early?"

"Sorta? It's pretty relaxing around this time, and I like it." Kanan shrugged, gazing at the sun. "It's a really good view, never get sick of seeing it every day."

"I'll most likely be animating this damn sunrise in a future episode, so I'm not particularly pleased about it." Anju groaned, handing back the towel. "I think Nico-san should be satisfied with the pictures I got. I majored in photography after all. "

"Heh~ Then why did you join the anime industry?"

"I liked animations ever since I was young, and I didn't really want to take over my father's business... so yeah." Anju replied, making her way back to the inn. "You should come visit us sometime, and bring those two along too."

"Dia... probably won't wanna visit you guys, considering how confused she was with all those lines in Tokyo..." Kanan laughed, going back to her morning jog. Once Anju reached the inn, she was greeted by Umi.

"Oh, good morning Anju. I never knew that you're an early riser." Anju grunted, shuffling past Umi. "I'll take it that Kotori asked you to take a look at the sunrise for work purposes then?"

"... Nico-san." Anju managed to reply intelligibly, nearly collapsing on to the floor. "I need coffee..."

"What you really need is sleep Anju. Come on, I'll help you back to your room." Umi sighed, helping Anju up. "... Have you ever considered going on a diet...?"

"I'm not fat... I'm big-boned..." Anju mumbled, half-asleep. Umi sighed once again, releasing the latter on top of Nozomi (who was too deep in sleep to notice a sudden weight on her).

"Umi-chan! You're awake already?" Kotori was standing outside her room, with Nico's head poking out of the room a few seconds later. "You're such an early bird~"

"Not as early as Anju apparently. Nico, why did you make Anju wake up at such an ungodly hour just to take pictures of the sunrise?!" Umi asked, her citrine eyes narrowing at Nico.

"Oh I don't know, maybe because I'm sketching out the clothes for the next five episodes?! If you recall, you wrote that the next five episodes will be taking place on a damned beach." Nico groaned, wishing that she could just go back to sleep. "I spent one day ironing out all the blasted annoyances with Nozoboobs yesterday, I've wasted enough time!"

"The animating team was kinda apprehensive about going for this trip, but we decided to go since it was located at a seaside town!" Kotori added, a tired smile on her face. "We were out for a total of seven months Umi-chan, we're lucky that viewers aren't complaining because the episodes are only released four to five times a month!"

"Are you saying that the three of you will forfeit this trip if it wasn't a trip to a seaside town?!"

"Ehehehe~"

"... Erena once called me a workaholic, but you three are the real workaholics here..." Umi commented, heading back to her room. "I was planning to go on a morning jog, but after seeing Anju in such a pathetic state I've decided to sleep in. Good night."

"Are we really _that_ bad Nico-chan? For Umi-chan to sleep in, that _never_ happens." Kotori asked, contemplating whether she herself should go back to sleep or go about with her day. Nico shrugged, crawling back into her futon. "Nico-chan?"

"Screw her, I just wanna sleep."

XXXXXX

"Hey Maki, when are you going to tell Hanayo that you like her?" Eli whispered into Maki's ear over breakfast, which was not exactly as energetic as some of them would've liked. Maki responded, by spreading butter all over Eli's toast, something that Eli didn't fancy. "M-Maki! You ruined my toast!"

"Yeah, and you ruined my mood for the day." Maki replied, taking a bite of her own toast. "Why ruin the friendship that we share?"

"Maki, it's obvious that Hanayo likes you too. It's almost a year, shouldn't you guys take the next step already?" Eli sighed, reluctantly consuming her ruined toast. Maki grumbled, she wanted to ask Hanayo out properly but she hated rejection. Especially from the one woman she liked. Just thinking about the possibility made Maki's stomach churn.

"... No way, no how."

"Rejection is a part and parcel of life Maki, you will eventually need to learn how to take it by its heels and slam it to the ground." Eli advised, tossing a look at Hanayo. Maki turned to face Hanayo, who was accompanied with Rin and Honoka. For some reason, seeing Hanayo with them left a bad feeling in Maki's mouth. "If you don't take this opportunity, she may very well just slip away from your grasp."

"... Urgh, I hate it when you make sense." Maki conceded, glaring at Rin and Honoka. She understood that Hanayo and Rin were childhood friends, which made it all the more sickening for Maki to see them chatting happily away. As for Honoka... well, Maki found her annoying, and she perceived the interaction as Honoka annoying Hanayo. _'Damn it, Hanayo's MINE.'_

"I always do Maki. Of course, I don't mean that you have to go in for the kill _now_. Just make sure that you don't waste away whatever chances you get." Eli clarified, sipping her orange juice (which was really a screwdriver). _'I'm getting the feeling that Maki's turning into a yandere... Sheesh, tsundere Maki is hard enough to deal with. I don't want to deal with a yandere one...'_

"... You're giving me mixed signals you know that?"

"I'm not Maki. I'm just saying that you don't have to rush things, but you can't wait forever to act."

"Tch. Pour me some juice, I can't be bothered to deal with this now..." Maki handed her empty glass to Eli, with the latter complying. "... Now, how should I go about it...?"

"I don't know, invite her out for a date?"

"No."

"You didn't even consider it!"

"That's a terrible idea, and you know it." Eli sighed, placing a hand on Maki's shoulder. "Seriously, terrible."

"How about you just go with the standard plan for dates? That's a start right?" Maki pondered for a while, munching on Eli's toast after a while. "Hey my toast!"

"Okay, I'll do it."

XXXXXX

"Aqours Cafe huh? You're telling me that this is the place where 'magic and dreams come alive'?" Maki asked, glancing at the signboard.

"Maki-chan, I tell you, it's probably one of the modern places out here. The food here is not disgusting too, so it's a plus." Nico responded, entering the cafe. "Hey Kurosawa! Table for 12!"

"P-Pigii!" A girl (or what Maki assumed to be a girl) screeched, immediately taking solace behind the counter.

"Hmph, it looks like the sinner has brought her entire army of peons!" A woman with part of her hair styled into a bun scoffed. Judging from her magician outfit, it was safe to say that she was 'Yohane-chan' as Nozomi had addressed yesterday.

"Yoshiko-chan, we don't need your fallen angel act now." A woman with maroon hair stepped out from the kitchen, fumbling with a white hair clip. Once she was done fixing the hair clip, she glanced at the group, moderately surprised at the number. "Oh my, that's a... rather large group we have here. Are you guys alright with splitting into groups of four? I'm afraid that we don't have a table large enough to cater for 12..."

"No, it's perfectly alright. Now guys, who wants to sit with who?" Eli asked, noticing Maki going up to the woman. "M-Maki?"

"You're... Riko, right? Riko Sakurauchi?" Maki asked, staring intensely at the woman's hair clip.

"Y-Yes... Oh wait... Maki Nishikino-san...? What brings you here?" Eli blinked, first Kanan, then Mari and Dia, and now Riko. Never did she expect her coworkers to be acquainted with the residents in Uchiura, though Nozomi would say that it's fate.

"Company trip. When did you move here?" Maki asked Riko, clearly acquainted in some way.

"Around five years ago. I planned to move back to Tokyo but I can't exactly leave Ruby-chan to deal with Yoshiko-chan's antics. Or Hanamaru-chan for that matter."

"... You're dating that weirdo magician aren't you?" Maki deadpanned, noting the magician in further detail. Currently, the magician looked as though she was about to... hit someone? _'W-Why do I feel like she really wants to hit me of all people?!'_

"What do you mean 'weirdo'?! Yohane the fallen angel is anything _but_ weird!" Yoshiko angrily responded, hurling a ball of yarn at Maki. "And I don't care whether you knew Lily from before, but keep your eyes off her!"

"... You're delusional alright, in more ways than one too..." Maki sighed, shaking her head as though it was a pity.

XXXXXX

"Hey hey Eli-chan, whatcha thinking about?" Honoka asked, staring at Eli.

"Oh nothing really, apart from the fact that quite a few of us are acquainted to the residents here..." Eli replied, sipping her coffee. "... You know, I've just noticed this... but you don't have much of a presence throughout the holiday so far..."

"Eh?" Honoka blinked, what was Eli talking about? She was present throughout the trip, what did she mean by presence?

"I agree with you there Eli. Speaking of presence, Rin is lacking of it too." Tsubasa nodded, a smile on her face. "But if you look upon the previous parts, this trip is really supposed to be about Nico and Nozomi."

"E-Eh? W-What are you guys talking about?" Honoka asked, but was ignored by Tsubasa and Eli. Nonetheless, it still didn't stop her from making remarks during their conversation.

"Ah yeah, but they have resolved the issue at hand... so now is considered the afterglow right?"

"D-Did you say something bordering on indecency Eli-chan?!"

"Well... not quite? I think now we'll have to deal with the main aim of the whole story."

"Oh, Maki and Hanayo right? Maki's really stubborn though..."

"W-What has Maki-chan and Kayo-chan got to do with this?!"

"Yeah... Though I think we might read about a date between them soon..."

"Speaking of dating... Tsubasa, your relationship with Erena seems to be close to non-existent. Are you really fine with that?"

"Well, Umi and Rin are going through the same thing as us. Nozomi and Anju may or may not be so... maybe we should talk about yours?"

"S-Should I even say anything at this point...?" Honoka mumbled to herself, observing Eli's many expressions. _'Well whatever, hearing Eli-chan talk about difficult stuff is a dangerous distraction... Thank the bread gods that she doesn't talk about this so often at work...'_

"Hmm... Looks like Honoka has a good view of wall breaking..." Umi commented, observing the trio from the next table while placing a spoonful of vanilla ice cream into her mouth. Erena, who was conveniently ignored by the said trio, sighed heavily. "And Erena gave up."

"What's wall breaking nya?" Rin asked, her chin resting on the wooden table top. "Rin doesn't think the owner would like it if they broke walls now..."

"Wall breaking means... um..." Umi stopped, contemplating whether she should really explain what the term meant to Rin. "... Never mind, it's hard to put it in words. But I can assure you that no walls are broken despite the phrase."

"That's a relief nya~ Rin has no money to pay the owner to be honest..."

"By the way Nico... regarding the game we played before dinner... how did you know that Kotori has a tattoo? Not even Honoka and I know about it..." Umi asked Nico, who was stuffing her bourbon ice cream (with caramel blocks underneath that gooey mess) into her mouth as though her life depended on it. "Uh... Kotori, is she alright?"

"Perfectly fine, she's just... craving for western desserts." Kotori explained, giggling softly. "And about the tattoo... well, let's just say she was bound to see it at some point."

"Mmf mm mmf mmphmm mmph (I saw it during sex)." Nico replied, her mouth full of the sweet dessert.

"... Rin can't understand a damn thing nya!" Umi and Kotori nodded, the former shooting Nico a disgusted look. Nico gulped down her ice cream, clarifying what she had meant to say.

"I saw it during sex. Sheesh, when else could I have seen the tattoo? She covers herself up 99 percent of the time!"

"But... I recall seeing her wearing a swimsuit yesterday..." Umi started, getting herself cut off by Nico.

"She was wearing a hoodie on top of her damn swimsuit." Umi blinked, then recounted to their trip to the beach. She remembered Kotori wearing a teal one-piece and a... oh. "So you finally remembered eh?"

"Y-Yeah... But Kotori, why did you get a tattoo? We're mostly on board with you, but you know that can't be said about our society right?" Kotori said nothing for a moment, but smiled eerily. _'I don't think I'm going to like the reason am I?'_

"... Well, I got one because I'm a designer! Therefore I'm a supporter of anything artistic!" Kotori replied cheerfully, clearly winning over Rin. Umi? Not so much... but that's not going to stop Umi's friendship with Kotori.

"I-I see... What kind of a tattoo did you get anyways?" Umi continued, sweating slightly despite the air-conditioning. _'The reason she got the tattoo is clearly far from supporting art...!'_

"I got a phoenix! It's to remind me that no matter what obstacles we may face, we'll always rise from the ashes just like the phoenix!"

"You're even thinking about Muse when you're getting the tattoo nya?! Wowee, maybe I should get one too!" Rin exclaimed, worrying Umi.

"R-Rin, before you get one you should consider the money involved. And the pain. And while you're at it, the time that you need to sit still." Umi hurriedly attempted to dissuade her girlfriend of the idea. It wasn't that she was wary of people who sported tattoos, rather it was because she had a feeling that Kotori had one was for any reason _but_ the one that came out of her mouth. _'Knowing Kotori... her tattoo is definitely not about the company... I wonder if I can get something out of her in private...'_

"That's true, mind was kinda pricey too... But I felt that it was really worth it, so it's up to you Rin-chan!" Kotori said with a smile on her face, though Umi felt that her smile was somewhat forced, as though her tattoo carried many burdens.

"Hmm... Rin will have to think about it, but large ones are definitely out nya! Rin doesn't like too much pain after all!"

"So you're okay with a little pain? Welp, looks like you have a budding masochist Umi." Nico smirked, offering Umi a bite of her ice cream. "Hey Umi, wanna try mine? Tastes like heaven y'know."

"W-What?! N-No! I-I prefer vanilla!"

"Try mixing it up a bit, you get me?"

"N-No Nico, you stick to your alcoholic ice cream with weird honey coloured blocks and I'll stick to my vanilla!"

"Aw, you're no fun at all." Nico laughed, licking off her spoon in a mildly suggestive way.

XXXXXX

"My~ What's with that scowl on yer face Maki-chan? Tryin' to look older are we now?" Nozomi teased, poking Maki's cheek. "But really, what are ya thinkin'?"

"... Not sure really. Just... seeing Riko getting a job, a girlfriend, and a happy family life makes me wonder what the hell am I doing with mine." Maki replied, to the surprise of Nozomi.

"That's unlike ya, but I totally get that feelin'. Like, what's the point of doin' this for so many years when others can do it at the snap of their fingers."

"Something like that, but I know for one that Riko has a close-knit relationship with her family. As for me... well, I have a terrible relationship with them."

"Heh, ya still see 'em from time to time though. I say that's somethin' to be happy about..."

"... What are you going to do about yours? You haven't seen them in years, are you going to find them or...?" Nozomi chuckled dryly, a glassy look surfacing.

"Them? Nah, I'm just gonna leave 'em behind along with my relationship with Elichi. They obviously don't wanna see me, so why should I go find 'em? It's funny though, they hated me an' yet they decided to have me, why can't they just abort me or somethin'?"

"Nozomi, don't say that about yourself. We're all glad that you're here, me, Nico-chan, Eli, everyone. Especially Anju, she loves you more than you think."

"... Yeah I know, but still... it's like why do they bother to pretend right till the point when I need 'em the most?" Nozomi shook her head, shrugging at the thought. "I lived my life on lies, maybe that's what they wanted me to do as a career, be a fake in society."

"Nozomi, you're not a fake. And if you want to go by that screwed logic, we're all fakes. I lived a lie that nearly sent me off a roof, Nico-chan lived a lie that nearly costed her virginity, and Eli-!"

"Stop stop stop! Nishikino-san, do you realise that Koizumi-san is still here?!" Anju questioned, her hands firmly over Hanayo's ears. "I don't want to know what the hell happened to Ayase-san, but that doesn't mean you can expose her to all the impurities in the world!"

"Well then... could you please kindly take your filthy mitts off Hanayo's ears? I don't want someone who gets it on almost every day of the week to touch my pure Hanayo." Maki responded in the same fashion, a serene smile that scared the wits out of Anju plastered on Maki's face.

"R-Right away ma'am!" Anju immediately did as what she was told, removing her hands from Hanayo's ears. "S-Sorry about that Koizumi-san..."

"It's okay, I don't mind! Nozomi-san, that parfait looks delicious. What did you order?" Hanayo asked, expressing interest in Nozomi's parfait.

"Strawberry parfait yan! Anyhoo... why are you still addressin' us so formally? It's been at least half a year ya know." Nozomi asked, a question that was long overdue.

"E-Eeep." Hanayo squeaked, not wanting to reveal that the reason was that she saw Maki as someone who was special. _'Rin-chan doesn't count as we've been together for so long...'_

"Going by the same vein, isn't Anju still addressing all of us formally even till now? It's more than a year for her, and you're not an exception you know." Maki pointed out, a devious smile on her face. Anju gulped, was Maki out for her just because she touched Hanayo?

"Good point. An-chan, why don't ya try callin' me somethin' else for starters?" Nozomi suggested, her turquoise eyes sparkling with curiosity. Curiosity for the new name that Anju would (hopefully) use.

"E-Eh?! I-I... uh... Nozomi... chan?" Anju sputtered, hoping that Nozomi would be satisfied. Needless to say, that was a hopeful wish on her part.

"Not good enough An-chan~ I don't wanna be on the same level as Erena-chan and Tsubasa-chan!" Nozomi pouted, though she was happy that Anju was comfortable in suggesting the suffix.

"N-Not good enough?! T-Then..." Anju was flustered, and both Nozomi and Maki were getting a kick out of it. Even Riko and Kurosawa were doing their best to suppress their giggles, while Yoshiko burst into unabashed laughter instantly. _'I-If I say the name that I always wanted to call her... she'll think of me as a creep! But if I don't... I'm going to be the laughingstock throughout the trip! I-I guess this is it huh...? Goodbye my restraint... hello creepiness...'_

"Hey Ruby-chan, do you think she'll make it through the day?" Riko asked Kurosawa, a grin on her face.

"W-Well if she doesn't, I could always make her some mint tea... Hanamaru-chan loves that... and will wake up after smelling it..." Ruby replied, hiding her faced behind a tray that she was holding.

"But you're still going to charge them right?"

"... I-It can't be helped, I'm running a business after all..."

"How shrewd of you, just like Dia-san."

"I-I... H-How about Non-tan...?" By now, Anju was quivering and about to faint from the attention she was getting. Thankfully for her, Nozomi approved of the name. "S-So now we can move on to Hanayo-san right?"

 _'They haven't forgotten about me after all huh...?'_ Hanayo thought to herself as Anju and Nozomi waited patiently for Hanayo's answer. _'Someone please save me...'_

XXXXXX

"Woohoo! It's the beach!" Honoka exclaimed, charging straight into the ocean with Rin. Umi sighed, they had visited the beach yesterday and yet Honoka acted like it was her first time at the beach. The rest were pretty much acting like how they did yesterday, except Nozomi was much more cheerful than before. Just as Nico had mentioned, Kotori was indeed wearing a white hoodie over her teal one-piece.

"Aren't you afraid that your jacket will get wet?" Umi asked, observing Kotori's exposed skin. _'Given that her swimsuit exposes her legs, it's obvious that the tattoo isn't on her legs... The swimsuit doesn't cover much of her bust, so I doubt the tattoo is there... Which leaves the stomach area and the back...'_

"Nah, I'm good~" Kotori replied, her amber eyes narrowing at Umi's scrutiny. She soon burst into laughter, startling Umi. "Pfffft! Ahahaha, Umi-chan, you could have just asked!"

"A-Ask you?! Ask you what exactly?" Umi panicked, realising a second too late that she had stared longer than normal. Kotori laughed again, starting to remove her hoodie. "W-What are you doing Kotori?"

"Giving you what you want you dummy!" Kotori replied, turning around so that her back faced Umi. Her back sported a large pitch-black phoenix that was surrounded by fiery flames. "Umi-chan, we're friends for so many years you know. It's not like I would mind showing this to you if you asked!"

"... So you wouldn't mind if I ask you a few... direct questions would you?" Umi asked, with Kotori nodding. From a distance stood Nico, Tsubasa and Maki, with the last two reacting accordingly to the reveal. "For starters... are you really connected to the yakuza?"

"K-Kotori has a tattoo?! Since when?!" Maki gaped, admiring the tattoo. "Though I have to say, the skill the tattoo artist Kotori went to is proudly shown on her back..."

"What I got from the reveal is that Kotori is clearly playing with the law... not like playing with us makes it any better..." Tsubasa groaned, glancing at Nico for her opinion. "Nico, what do you think?"

"Huh? Well I know for one that her tattoo carries a burden that we'll never know... and as her lover I'll accept her, burden and all." Nico responded, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "Hey Maki-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think of Hanayo getting a tattoo of a riceball somewhere?" Maki coughed, certainly not expecting such a question. Hanayo, a tattoo?! Of a riceball?! That was downright tacky, but knowing Hanayo, Maki couldn't simply dismiss the thought...

"Pfffft! Umi-chan, when you said 'direct' you really meant it huh?" Kotori laughed, as though Umi had told her a grand joke. "But yes, you're correct in your assumption. I am what you say, and it's no lie."

"H-How is it possible that you've hidden the fact that you belong to the yakuza for so many years? Not to mention that every time Honoka and I visit your house, it's a modern apartment and not a traditional house like mine..."

"Well to be fair, I'm not the heir to the Hayashi clan. So we can basically live our lives in peace without dealing much with criminal activities."

"And uh, the divorce... which parent was related to the..." Umi continued, trying her best to tread carefully as she knew that Kotori didn't like talking about her parents' divorce.

"My father, but I guess you guys didn't know about it since I never took on his surname." Kotori shrugged, putting her jacket back on. "Any further questions?"

"... Have you engaged in anything criminal before?" Kotori blinked, then chuckled. Umi wasn't sure what her best friend's reaction meant, but she didn't like the tone of _that_ chuckle.

"If you really want to know, stealing and bribery are two examples that I'm willing to share~" Kotori smiled, ending the conversation almost immediately. Umi gulped, learning more about her best friend than she would had probably wanted. "Now, I'm off to the sea to play with Honoka-chan and Rin-chan! Umi-chan, wanna join us?"

"N-No thanks, I'm going to hang out under shade with Maki..." Umi mumbled, hastily making her way to Maki, who was still with Nico and Tsubasa. "Nico! I have a question!"

"Look, if it's about the stealing and bribery part, yes she has done it before." Nico sighed, having overheard the whole conversation while Maki was debating over a tattooed Hanayo. "And before you ask how do I know, it's because she stole my purse from me years ago and that she bribed me with sweets to skip out on work once."

"... I feel like I've been let down for some reason..." Umi muttered, to which Tsubasa nodded along with Nico resisting the urge to break into laughter upon seeing how gullible Umi really was.

XXXXXX

"Nozomi, start helping us pack already." Eli called out, busy folding her clothes into her luggage. It was already the end of their week-long trip to Uchiura, and now the 12 of them must face the work waiting for them back at the office. "The same goes for you slackers!"

"Mmmmgh... I don't wanna pack at all! Eli-chan! Can't you turn back the clock?!" Honoka whined, rolling on the floor as though she was six.

"If I could, I would have turned it back to the day I got myself in an accident and prevented it." Eli replied, which somehow got Honoka moving. The other slackers, not so much. "Erena, Rin, Nico, Maki, get moving already!"

"Rin doesn't wanna pack nya!" Rin complained, sullenly obeying Eli's order.

"Trust me Rin, it's way better than waiting for Eli to _actually_ come in and make you do it. I've seen her doing it to Honoka once." Umi warned, throwing an empty ramen cup into the trash bin.

"Umi-chan's right, poor Honoka-chan didn't get to see the day..." Kotori faked a sniffle, which earnt herself a deadpan Nico that refused to help clean up her room. "Just move your lazy nico nico ass already."

"What the hell Kotori, you can't intimidate me." Nico replied, scoffing as she went back to sleep. Kotori sighed, cracking her knuckles as she proceeded to beat Nico up until she actually cooperated. "Ow ow ow! Okay fine, I'll clean up! Damn it woman, stop hitting me already!"

"They're so noisy..." Erena grumbled as she helped Tsubasa to clean up the room. "Must I really do this?"

"Well, it's too much trash to leave it to Takami-san..." Tsubasa replied, tying up a trash bag that was filled with rubbish. "Plus Eli's going to kill us if we don't clean up."

"True that... Hey Maki, you cleaning up?" Erena called out, receiving no response. "Koizumi-san?"

"W-Well she's still... M-Maki-chan, please wake up!" Hanayo called out, gently shaking Maki awake.

"... You can't make me." Maki mumbled, going back to sleep despite the fact that it was already 11 am. "Maki needs sleep."

"M-Maki-chan! I-It's our last day! You can't sleep here!"

"No."

"U-Uh... Maki-chan, you do know that we need you to be awake so that you can drive us back later right?" That got Maki to jump out of bed and leave the inn. _'I think I did something bad... but I got Maki-chan to wake up... right?'_

"Hey Hanayo, where is Maki going? She left the inn!" Eli poked her head into the room Hanayo shared with Maki, a worried expression on her face.

"I... told her that she's driving us back to Tokyo..." Eli blanched, and promptly left the inn. "I really did do something bad didn't I?"

"Koizumi-san, anything that involves Nishikino-san driving will send Ayase-san into hysterics. I mean, remember what happen that day?" Anju added, forcing Hanayo to remember Maki's terrible driving. "Oh, that must hit a nerve. Sorry about that..."

"Hey if Maki-chan's really drivin' us back, who's gonna ride with her?" Nozomi asked, raising alarm among the ten of them. "... It's not gonna be pretty right?"

"I call dibs on Eli-chan's car!" Honoka shouted, running out of the inn.

"Hey no fair nya! Rin wants to ride with Eli-chan too!" Rin yelled, chasing after Honoka.

"... Not gonna risk my life with Maki-chan! An-chan, clean up the room while I save myself!" Nozomi begged, trying her best to escape before Anju could stop her.

"Sorry Kotori, but I _really_ value my life! I'm too young to die!" Nico apologised, scrambling out of the room and out of the inn.

"Are we actually going to allow Maki to drive...?" Umi asked, trembling at the prospect of riding with Maki. By now, she and the rest knew that there was almost no hope for them to escape a terrifying fate of sharp turns, speeding and jam brakes.

"I won't let her, even if it means bludgeoning her!" Kotori declared, storming out of the inn with her luggage in hand. The remaining six watched as Kotori left the inn, possibly with the intent of injuring Maki to the point of being unable to drive.

"I-Is she really going to kill Maki-chan...?" Hanayo asked, wondering whether she should be concerned that Kotori threatened to put Maki's life at risk or Maki being beaten to death by a luggage bag.

"Uh... I... don't really know at this point." Umi responded, going back to cleaning her room.

"... Let's just hope for the best." Tsubasa commented, wincing as she heard Kotori yelling at Maki to, quote, 'move your damn ass out of the freaking car or I'll rip you a new one'.

"Minami-san sure is scary when she's angry..." Anju remarked, preparing to leave the inn with Erena. "Are you three done?"

"We'll head out first." Erena said, opening the inn door only to reveal... a scene that automatically censored itself upon exposure to Anju and Erena. "You know what, we'll just stay in here and wait for... that scene to un-censor itself..."

XXXXXX

"Hmph, I could have totally drove us back home..." Maki pouted, folding her arms while she glared at Kotori. "You don't have to beat me up just cause you wanted to drive..."

"I'm not going to put our lives in danger." Kotori huffed, with the other ten silently thanking her for her efforts to prevent Maki from even reaching the steering wheel.

"Yeah... but you don't have to put me with Eli you know."

"Learn a thing or two from her Maki-chan!"

"Well, seems like things have gone back to normal eh?" Nozomi commented, a smile on her face. "Nicocchi, wanna get a drink afterwards?"

"A drink? Sure, but who's gonna pay? You?" Nico questioned, earning herself a harsh glare from Eli.

"Nope, Elichi's gonna foot the bill."

"H-Hey! When did I ever volunteer to pay for your drinks?! And Nozomi, you're not allowed to drink a single drop!" Eli exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Nozomi.

"Ayase-san, remember the pudding that you promised." Anju reminded, placing a hand on Nozomi's shoulder. "And I'll be tagging along for the after-party too."

"Ooh are you guys going to go drinking? Lemme join in too!" Honoka bounced over to the group, a smile on her face. "I, like, know this awesome place downtown that one of the yakuza members I met during that Russian Roulette fiasco recommended!"

"H-Hey Honoka, what is the name of the yakuza group that you challenged?" Umi asked hesitantly, glancing at Kotori before going back to Honoka.

"Uhhhh... Hayashi I think? Who the heck cares, I just wanna get smashed!" Umi gulped, scooting over to Kotori.

"Hey uh Kotori, who was the boss of the Hayashi clan around the time Honoka got herself into trouble?"

"Honoka-chan may or may not have caused my granduncle's death." Kotori replied, softly groaning to herself. "It's a shame really, he was a pretty good leader. Not like my screw up of an uncle..."

"My condolences... I guess?"

"If it's going out for drinks, I guess Erena and I could partake in it for a while. Right Erena?" Tsubasa grinned, with Erena agreeing with a silent nod.

"In that case, what about you guys? Rin, you joining?" Honoka asked, a mischievous grin creeping onto her face.

"Totally nya! Let's party all night!" Rin cheered, worrying Umi greatly especially since they were likely to be heading to the place that Honoka knew.

"Don't worry Umi-chan, I'm tagging along too. As a member of the Hayashi clan, I have a duty to ensure that the clan doesn't go out of hand with my friends." Kotori reassured Umi, gently pulling towards the group. "Kayo-chan, will you be joining us?"

"Um... Maki-chan, do you want to go out with the rest or do you want to go home and rest?" Hanayo asked, checking her watch. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they arrived back in Tokyo far later than they have expected.

"Well... I suppose I'm obligated to join that rowdy bunch for drinks, and I can't risk your life at a shady bar Honoka's bringing us to." Maki sighed, shooting Kotori a warning look. "Kotori, please fulfill what you've reassured Umi and not let Hanayo get into any danger."

"I-I didn't exactly promise that I'll guarantee Kayo-chan's life... but you can count on me?"

"Alright! Let's get this never-endin' party started!" Nozomi cheered, following Honoka as she led the rest to a bar that was just like any other bar (surprisingly).

 _'I could use this time to think about a date plan with Hanayo... Hmm, wonder what movies are out?'_ Maki mused to herself, a bashful smile creeping onto her reddening face the longer she think about it.

XXXXXX

Tsubasa: Well Anju, now you know where does she have the tattoo.

Erena: I wonder though, what exactly _is_ the burden she has to bear?

Anju: Oh my god, she's such a delinquent!

TsuErena: (Well yeah, she's part of the yakuza after all...)

Anju: But... she's a nice person overall. So I guess even if she has connections to the underworld, she's still a good person!

Erena: That's a 180 turn you did back there.

Tsubasa: Have to agree with Erena on this.

Anju: Though... what's this story becoming to...? Yakuza, gambling, more yakuza stuff... this is totally not related to the main story!

Erena: Can't disagree with you there... And I almost thought that this was the end of the story...

Tsubasa: This isn't the end, the original end was... something else but our dear author unintentionally screwed up with the introduction of Aqours.

Anju: That's spoiling it Tsu-chan!

Erena: Reviews first, then argument.

TsuAnju: Fiiiiine...

 **Aethuran:** I'm surprised that I can stick to this deadline... I'm actually cutting it close.

 **TheNightstriker:** Hey can you blame Honoka though? She had gotten herself injured _and_ is unaware of it, of course she'll be behind the scenes resting up! (Truthfully, I just forgot about her.) Well, Maki's driving instructor doesn't have to be legally blind in order to pass her... and it's not that the rest don't have enough sense to get someone else to drive, it's just that Maki's very persistent when it comes to driving. Chika does indeed have a huge chest, which is why Maki just couldn't tear her eyes away from Chika's chest. I wouldn't say that the group was slandering Umi... maybe just teasing her in a cruel way.

Tsubasa: Anyways, what now of the ending since it was unintentionally spoilt?

Anju: Who knows, maybe we can just push someone off a cliff...

Erena: We're _not_ pushing anyone off a cliff Anju.

Anju: Hey just saying, with Kotori-san having ties with the yakuza, she could very well push Nico-san off a cliff in a suicide pact.

Tsubasa: Aaaaaaand this topic about endings have taken a turn for the worst. Let's just end this here, this is one ending that we can control after all...


	13. Chapter 13

Nico: Well seems like we're on our 13th chapter! So Umi, what's the content?

Umi: Apparently today's the day of the awaited event.

Hanayo: Halloween?

Nico: *Facepalms* No, the highlight of this story!

Umi: Basically a date scene.

Nico: And cue stalking music! *Eerie piano music plays* No not that Tsubasa!

Tsubasa: You _did_ say stalking music...

Nico: I don't mean the type where a killer is hunting down a victim! I meant the light-hearted kind of music when a group of friends try to follow a couple kind of music!

Tsubasa: Oh. That kind huh? Well, we only have a piano here so... *Goes back to eerie piano music*

Nico: GOD FREAKING DAMN IT!

Umi: Hanayo ran away... Well, I would bolt if I were her too... Anyways, the author doesn't own anything.

XXXXXX

"Okay so I got the movie, now what?" Maki asked Eli, holding up a CD. Eli groaned, cradling her head in her hands. "What? You said to go with the standard plan for dates!"

"Maki, before I continue, tell me what is your perception of a standard date plan?"

"Well according to those cheesy films, it's movies, then food, then romantic dating spot."

"That's correct. So pray tell, why are you holding up a CD instead of movie tickets?" Eli asked, mumbling about how she had overestimated Maki.

"Well I don't want to go out... plus watching a movie together is also romantic?"

"Then how are you going to settle the food aspect?"

"I'll cook for her proper food. And by proper, I meant with a pot and pan."

"... The romantic dating spot?"

"Uh... I was thinking of lying in my room and looking up at the ceiling. I mean, I painted constellations on the ceiling you know." Maki replied innocently, not aware that she had betrayed Eli's expectations many times over. "Is there something wrong with my plans?"

"Yes, yes there is." Eli groaned, facepalming as she snatched the CD out of Maki's hands. "... How the hell did you obtain an anime version of Twelfth Night? That's not even considered as a freaking movie you idiot."

"Oh A-RISE lent it to me when I asked them about any good things to watch, so if you have any problems you should ask those three 'idiots' you freaking _dumbass_." Maki answered, snatching back the CD. "Anyways, what's the flaw in my plan?"

"The problem? Everything, you useless lesbian." Eli stated, sighing at the work in front of her. "When I said invite her for a movie, I meant you two will watch one at an actual cinema! And when I said go somewhere nice for lunch, I meant that the two of you are eating outside that is _not_ ramen. And when I mean bring her to a romantic spot, I expect you to bring her somewhere that's _outside_. How the hell are you able to misinterpret my advice?!"

"... It's too much work though..." Maki mumbled guiltily. Eli groaned softly, at least Maki had some guilt, that was a start.

"Maki, you have to learn how to accommodate if you want to enter a relationship."

"Is that why you put up with Honoka's gambling?"

"Haha, no. The gambling issue is half blackmail, half unrestrained impulses. But that's another issue, right now we need to find a way to accommodate your extremely lazy lifestyle with a perfect date. Or... at least a successful one."

"Soooo, I assume you have a backup plan?"

"Maki, I didn't prepare a backup plan because I'm going to make you go through this successfully whether you like it or not."

"Isn't the point of a date supposed to be enjoyable for both parties?"

"Don't get smart with me now Maki."

"Sorry Eli." A few metres away from the duo, hidden behind a corner were Nico and Kotori, who just so happened to be within the vicinity.

"Man, Maki-chan sure is bad with social situations~" Nico grinned, her ruby eyes gleaming with mischief. "We should help her!"

"Nico-chan, we both know your idea of helping is clearly going to make their date even more of a disaster. Let's just help Kayo-chan instead, I bet it's her first time." Kotori suggested, chopping Nico's head.

"Kotori, don't you dare suggest that those two are gonna bang on their first date!" Nico shot back in mock disgust. "I can't believe you would suggest such a thing!"

"Nico-chan, seriously. Don't think that I don't know that you were slipping in some sexual innuendos when you were eating ice cream at that cafe we went to two months ago. You were trying to imply the kind of sex that Umi-chan's into weren't you?!"

"Ah, so you noticed." Nico smirked, shrugging Kotori's observation aside. "I almost thought that my witty comments went unnoticed."

"That's not witty, that's just crude."

"I can't help it though, I'm just made outta crude oil after all." Nico turned away, going towards the graphic arts room. "Don't you think I'm just so useful Kotori?"

"Yes you are useful, but I fail to see how you being as useful as crude oil is related to you being a crude person."

"That, my darling, is what we call a change of topics."

"That is actually called avoiding the topic." Kotori sighed, cradling her head in her left palm. "And since when you call me 'darling'?"

"Whatever, we can talk about this later. Right now..." Nico pulled out her handphone and punched in a series of numbers. "We have a riceball to prepare."

"Please stop sexualising Kayo-chan already."

XXXXXX

"Thank you for inviting me out on a date, I certainly didn't expect an invitation from you to be honest." Hanayo smiled, her mind on a certain conversation that happened two hours ago.

 _"Listen up Hanayo, Maki-chan is planning to invite you on a date. We want you to ask her out instead."_ Nico had told her, amusement in her voice.

 _"S-Sure... but why me?"_

 _"Truth is, we overheard Maki-chan talking about it with Eli-chan. It... wasn't exactly the best kind of conversation that we could overhear-"_

 _"Basically what Kotori's trying to say is that Maki-chan sucks big time when it comes to dating."_

 _"N-Nico-chan! I wasn't even thinking of that!"_

 _"Whatever, Hanayo, listen to what we're gonna say."_ With that, Nico brought Hanayo closer and provided her with advice for a successful date.

"Oh I thought it would be nice to hang out, j-just the two of us?" Hanayo blushed, not used to planning dates. She was actually glad that Maki wasn't exactly the most observant person around, if Maki realised that she liked her senior in a romantic light then...

"... Yeah." Maki agreed, a similar blush on her cheeks. "Actually, I had plans to hang out together but it's fine, you beat me to the punch anyways."

"Ahaha, I guess our thoughts are connected?"

"Maybe? Anyways, where are we going first?" Maki asked, curious to know more about Hanayo's plans. _'I could used this opportunity to find out Hanayo's choices in planning dates... then I won't screw up when I invite her the next time...'_

"I was thinking of a movie? There's one movie that I'm really interested in so I was hoping that you would accompany me?" Hanayo smiled, holding up two tickets to a movie. "I promise, it's not a cartoon!"

"I wouldn't mind really, as long as it's with you." Maki responded, it was the truth anyways.

"Really? That's sweet of you! The movie's about to start, shall we go in?" A few metres away from the duo were three sketchy women hiding behind a lamp post, one of them so covered up until some kid nearly reported her to the police.

"Remind me why am I tagging along with you guys?" Eli asked, lowering her shades to get a better look at the duo. "And if Hanayo invited Maki on a date on the spot, when did she even have the time to get the movie tickets?"

"That was ours, we planned to watch that movie today but..." Kotori sighed, glaring at Nico. " _Someone_ over here decided that it was okay to give them to Kayo-chan!"

"Hey! You were pretty okay with it when Hanayo asked if you were fine with it!"

"That's because I didn't want her to feel bad! If we were around someone else, I wouldn't hesitate to break your bones you little sh-"

"Whoa there! Calm down Kotori! No need to cause a murder scene here!" Eli quickly stepped in to end the argument, heaving a sigh of relief once the couple looked away from each other. _'After what happened to Maki on the way back to Tokyo, I don't want to see another argument involving Kotori... Who knew that she could fight?'_

"... Well, what should we do? The movie's two hours long." Nico asked, staring at a movie poster. "Hey Kotori, should we watch that movie some time?"

"Which one?" Kotori followed Nico's gaze, a look of disgust soon appearing on her features. "... Are you serious...?"

"Oh man, 'Zombie Plant And The Vegetarians 2'?! I've been waiting for _years_ for the sequel! Nico! Let's go and watch it! Right now even!" Eli squealed, dragging Nico towards the cinema. "Ah Kotori, you can stay out here and wait for Maki and Hanayo to come out! We're going to watch this movie!"

"See ya later Kotori!"

"... But it's a cartoon meant to poke fun at vegetarians..."

XXXXXX

"That was really interesting." Maki commented, coming out hand in hand with Hanayo. The latter didn't seem to notice the hand-holding and to be honest, Maki herself wasn't aware that she was holding hands with Hanayo.

"Yeah, serves the vegetarians right for attempting to eat Zombie Plant!" Nico cheered, which simply gave Kotori a headache.

"... I still can't believe you two ditched me for the sake of some cartoon..." Kotori mumbled, going after the two people that they were supposed to follow. "Let's go, they're on the move."

"Anyways, Hanayo's supposed to bring Maki somewhere to eat right? Where did you guys suggest?" Eli asked, glancing at her surroundings. "Why does it start to look sketchy...?"

"Huh? Really? I thought it looks okay?" Nico blinked, failing to see Eli's concerns.

"... You do realise the number of love hotels around here right?" Eli continued, averting her eyes away from a building. "I know Hanayo wouldn't bring Maki to such a place... but you two on the other hand..."

"Eli, if I wanna bone, I wouldn't pay for it." Nico sighed, pointing to the couple that they were following. "You see, _that's_ the place that we told Hanayo about."

"Oh, it's a family restaurant. Thank god, I thought you two were telling Hanayo about some sex dungeon..."

"Ew, why a sex dungeon? At least say sex shop or erotica bookstore..." Nico asked in disgust, making her way to the restaurant. "So, what do you two wanna eat?"

"Wait, we're eating _here_?!"

"I want cheesecake!"

"Kotori, that's not what you should be saying right now!"

"Eli, shut up already. We're here to follow them _without_ getting found out." Nico groaned, going over to one of the staff members. "Table for three please, and give us a seat away from that couple over there."

"Of course, will this table be acceptable?" The waiter ushered the trio to a table that was within Maki's and Hanayo's blind spot, which Nico accepted gratefully. He handed the trio two menus, and went off about his work.

"Okay let's see here, Kotori wants a cheesecake, what should I get..." Nico mumbled to herself as she flipped the pages, unable to decide if she wanted pasta or grill. Eli on the other hand, was still facepalming at the situation. "Quit facepalming and choose what you want to eat."

"... I guess salami then."

"That's all you want for your lunch Eli-chan?!" Kotori exclaimed, leaning over to whisper into Eli's ear. "I'm gonna make Nico-chan pay though, you should try to order the pricier stuff too."

"You're evil Kotori." Eli replied, but decided to flip through the menu. "Oh the chocolate lava cake sounds nice. And maybe I should get a drink bar too, then is the sirloin steak set a good choice too? But what if it's too salty...?"

"Kotori, can I just say that I'm glad Eli's loosening up to us stalking MakiPana. What did you whisper to her just now anyway?" Nico asked, a cheery smile on her face. Kotori's amber eyes gleamed with mischief as she leant over and whispered the exact same thing she had told Eli to her girlfriend.

"I'm surprised that you didn't suggest a rice-based restaurant, though I would have been perfectly fine about it." Maki asked, a smile on her face as she watched Hanayo sip her iced tea.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT I'M PAYING FOR EVERYTHING?! IS THAT WHY YOU TWO ARE ORDERING THE MOST EXPENSIVE FOOD ON THE DAMN MENU?!" Nico yelled at Kotori, which startled Maki.

"I-Is that Nico-chan? What is she doing here?"

"I-It's probably someone who sounds like her Maki-chan. She's busy on the graphics today remember?" Hanayo replied, dismissing the possibility that her senior was in the very same restaurant as them.

"WHEN THE HELL DID YOU PLACE THE ORDERS ELI?! DAMN IT NOW I CAN'T FREAKING CHANGE THE ORDERS!"

"You're right, the Eli we know and love would never have the guts to secretly place an order." Maki nodded, going back to her chicken fritters. "Hm, these chicken pieces are good."

"Aw look, the egg's cute~"

"KOTORI, I AM STILL TALKING TO YOU. DON'T YOU FREAKING DARE GO GAGA OVER THE DAMN EGG NOW!"

"B-But it's really cute!"

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT CANNIBALISM?! THAT COULD BE YOUR COUSIN FOR ALL WE KNOW!"

"Stop shouting Nico!"

"NO YOU ST- OH HELL NO, HOW THE HELL DID YOUR SIRLOIN STEAK GET HERE BEFORE MY CARBONARA?!"

"The service here is pretty good, the yelling customer's friends got their meals already."

"I-I know right? A-Ahaha..." Hanayo awkwardly laughed, praying that the mentioned customer wasn't Nico herself.

"WHAT THE HELL ELI, YOUR SALAMI IS STINKING UP THE DAMN TABLE!"

"I wish my childhood was like this, I think it would be pretty fun." Maki commented, ignoring the crashes from Nico's table. "Papa always said to behave myself as it reflected how they brought me up. Wished that I could cause some trouble for my folks when I was a kid."

"Ehehe..."

XXXXXX

"Oh god, let's _never_ go through that again." Nico groaned, walking out of the restaurant with an empty wallet. "Kotori, you're paying for my train ticket home later."

"Use your card Nico-chan. Besides, it was your fault." Kotori replied, which was met with a glare from Nico.

" _You_ were the one who told Eli that I'll pay! I never had any intention of treating you two!"

"You should once in a while!"

"My paycheck goes to paying my mom's hospital bills!"

"Is that why you're mooching off the company's food with Maki-chan?!"

"Hold up, all of the food in the company belongs to Maki. She's the one who bought it." Eli interrupted, unable to take it anymore. "And Nico, if you're so obsessed over the bill, I can pay for my share."

"It's not about who's paying it! Wait a minute... weren't _you_ the one who's been eating all of the food in the fridge? You mean to say that you've been mooching off her personal food _and_ not replace it?!" Nico asked, turning around only to see Maki and Hanayo walking off to god knows where. "Man, you're a bigger jerk than I thought."

"No, I don't bother to restock the _company's_ fridge. I do restock Maki's personal fridge, of course by taking some of the stuff from the company's fridge to replace it..."

"Same difference! God, you're one major asshole!" Nico exclaimed, yanking on Eli's collar. "Why are you like this woman?!"

"You already knew about this last year! Boxing Day at Honoka's house remember?! You guys tackled me to the ground!"

"Damn right we did, and I should give you a good ol' nico nico smack right here and now. But since we're still following our precious couple, I'm gonna let you off the hook. For now." Nico seethed, stalking off to catch up with Maki and Hanayo.

"You should really stock up the fridge once in a while." Kotori commented breezily, following after Nico. Eli sighed, rubbing her neck and making her way after Nico and Kotori.

XXXXXX

"It's getting late, are you sure you'll be okay?" Maki asked, worried for Hanayo's safety.

"Yup! There's one last place I would like to take you, is it alright if you accompany me?" Hanayo asked, a hesitant smile on her face. Maki nodded, allowing herself to be led by her crush. Following closely behind were Eli, Nico and Kotori, who had no idea where was Hanayo planning to bring Maki.

"You're telling me that you two have no idea where they're going now?" Eli asked, relieved that they were back in the city area.

"Nope, but I think I can guess." Nico replied, staring at a banner. "Eli, what date is it today?"

"Uh... Halloween?"

"Then I definitely know where is Hanayo bringing Maki-chan to." Nico said, her eyes never leaving Hanayo.

"Oh! Is it the one that..." Kotori asked, but decided to stop upon seeing Eli's confused expression. "... Never mind, it's a secret."

"What secret?! It better not be scary! You guys know that I hate this day!" Eli whined, holding on to Kotori's arm tightly. "I still haven't forgiven you for giving me a fright with that scream mask on my birthday!"

"Don't worry, we're leading you to a magical night!" Nico explained, which didn't do much to ease Eli's worries. Hanayo on the other hand, was having an easier time bringing Maki to where she wanted. Hanayo had eventually stopped, pointing to the blocked off road.

"It's a Halloween parade!" Both Maki and Eli exclaimed, with varying degrees of excitement. Participating in the parade were Nozomi and Rin, which was really just a coincidence.

"Y'see Eli, told ya it'll be magical." Nico puffed out her chest in pride, not aware that Eli was tightening her grip on Kotori's arm. Kotori sincerely wished that the pincer-like grip on her arm would at least loosen, but knowing Eli she expected it to continue for a solid 30 minutes.

 _'If magical means painful, then yeah Nico-chan, I totally agree with you that today's a magical night- ow ow ow ow...!'_ Kotori had to bite her lip in order to prevent herself from screaming. _'On the bright side, Maki-chan looks like she's really enjoying it! Rin-chan looks quite cute as a demon cat! Oh and Nozomi-chan's killing it with her witch costume! Ow! Eli-chan, please don't tighten your grip any further, I think my arm's going to break...!'_

"Ah! Nozomi and Rin are in there too! Pffft, they look like they're having fun." Maki grinned like a child, which made Hanayo happy. "Speaking of Rin, do we have to get her anything for her birthday? It's tomorrow right?"

"I think we can figure it out later? Right now, I would like to enjoy the parade with you by my side." Nico and Eli let out a soft 'aw', while Kotori simply looked like she was out of breath. Maki blushed, furiously twirling her scarlet hair as she tried to come up with an answer.

"I-I... I feel the same way. Happy Halloween Hanayo." Hanayo beamed, relieved that she was informed of the parade a while back.

 _'Maki-chan doesn't need to know who told me about this parade... right?'_ Hanayo's lavender eyes then shifted to a woman with wolf ears on her head, her hair in the exact shade as Maki's. _'I wonder if I can get them to at least make up...'_

XXXXXX

"I had fun Hanayo, really!" Maki couldn't stop smiling, it was quite a while that had so much fun. Adding her crush into the mix, and it was Maki's best day in her life. "Thanks for everything today."

"Not a problem! I wasn't sure if you were interested in the Halloween parade today, so it's actually a relief that you liked it in the end!"

"... I never told anyone this, but when I was still on good terms with my parents, they brought me to see a Halloween parade. The lights, the comically-accurate costumes, it really struck a chord in me you know? I consider that one of my favourite memories, and you just made it even more special." Maki admitted, a worried look on her face. "I'm... sure this is not a good way to end off a date, but I just wanted to tell you something happier from my past."

"If it helps, I'm not really too sure how to respond to your happy memory in a way that sounds from a romance movie?" Hanayo shrugged, making Maki laugh. "I'm really not good with dating and stuff, so I guess we're in the same boat?"

"Yeah, guess it does." Maki said, with a blush on her cheeks. "Hey uh... if I asked you whether I could kiss you right now, would you allow me to?"

"... Oh my god, is Maki-chan actually _asking_ Hanayo for permission?!" Nico whispered from behind a lamppost, getting herself smacked by Kotori a second later. "Ow?!"

"At least she knows that consent is important in a relationship! Not like you Nico-chan!" Kotori whispered back, which made Eli smack them both.

"Both of you are one to talk, now stop fighting so that I can concentrate on their kissing!" Eli hissed, her cerulean eyes on the couple. The said couple brought their lips together, sealing the deal. "Alright Maki, now all you need to do is to treat her right!"

"But who can she get advice from? The two of us suck at maintaining a healthy relationship, Nozomi's relationship with Anju doesn't even look stable, Umi's relationship with Rin doesn't even _look_ like a relationship and yours isn't exactly the greatest either." Nico shot back, taking pictures with her phone. "And don't suggest Tsubasa and Erena, they're new to the dating scene too."

"... We could always enlist the help of Maki's friend... Sakurauchi-san was it? I mean, according to Nozomi she was dating that magician you dissed..."

"... You might as well ask A-RISE to enlist the help of that gay ass diver and that shameless chick who was strutting around naked at the inn."

"Just so you know, Honoka, Rin and Erena were also in their birthday suits."

"Same logic, point is we need to guide them in the right direction without tainting their purity."

"Taint whose purity?" Three heads turned around, only to come face to face with Maki and Hanayo. "How long have you been following us?"

"Right from the beginning~ Congratulations on your new relationship!" Kotori congratulated the couple as though nothing had happened beforehand. Nico and Eli gulped, how long did Maki notice that they were hiding behind the lamppost?

"Seriously?! So the one shouting in the family restaurant was really you Nico-chan?!" Maki groaned, having half a mind to slap the nico nico daylights out of her senior. "Dude, not cool."

"W-Well, we were only following you two because we want to see how it turned out! I mean after all Maki, you planned to stay in for the date! You suck at it! How can I not worry?!" Eli defended, which embarrassed Maki greatly.

"S-Shut up... Hanayo doesn't need to know that..."

"Actually, we already told her that you sucked big time. So no worries on that end!" Kotori added, making the rest wonder if she was somehow immune to the mood.

"Kotori, stop. Please don't make myself look worse than usual..."

"Don't worry Maki-chan! I'm perfectly okay with staying in for a date!" Hanayo wanted to cheer her new girlfriend up, but it didn't have the desired effect.

"... Thanks Hanayo, you're the best..."

XXXXXX

Tsubasa: It sounds like we're going to hit a drama filled chapter soon...

Nico: It won't be if Maki-chan just stops acting liking a big baby!

Umi: You're a big baby yourself...

Nico: Shut up Umi.

Hanayo: I don't think it'll be that bad? Oh, why not we address the reviews first?

Nico: It's singular Hanayo.

Hanayo: Ahaha... (I was trying not to mention it...)

 **AethuranKR:** Was it? I'm sure a few would disagree that it was great...

Tsubasa: Yeah like _me_ for one. That topic turned from a commentary to outright wrong on many levels!

Umi: Apparently _someone_ here likes to make this section a comedy act.

Nico: Sure ain't hell me.

Tsubasa: Oh yeah?

Hanayo: U-Um...

Umi: You two, stop it. (I was referring to the damn author...)

Tsubasa: Shut up, you prude.

Nico: Yeah, you need to get out some more!

Umi: ... Why are you ganging up on me now? Hanayo, please end this.

Hanayo: O-Okay! Thank you for reading this chapter! (Oh I hope Maki-chan and I will get to have more scenes as a couple together!)


	14. Chapter 14

Nozomi: Alrighty! Honoka-chan's back with me!

Honoka: Yeah! We're gonna have sooo much fun!

Maki: *Plays with her hair* This is a recipe for disaster.

Erena: You're telling me. Speaking of recipes... you created one a while back didn't you?

Maki: Huh?! When?!

Erena: Cooking With Muse, A Disastrous Heaven? You really forgot?

Maki: ... What kind of a lame title is _that_?

Erena: Muse was featured in a magazine that wrote about your terrible cooking? You were in it for heaven's sake!

Nozomi: Oh, this Maki-chan isn't from that story! Though, I'm not sure which one is she from...

Maki: I'm from You're My Addiction.

Honoka: Oh that's an old one! I'm from the anime series!

Nozomi: And I'm from Interlinked!

Maki: Oh, so _you're_ the Nozomi who messed up everyone's lives except for Rin's, Hanayo's and Honoka's! Is this why there's so much flashback in this chapter?!

Nozomi: Not really? Look, just because Interlinked has a hella long flashback doesn't mean it's the cause!

Maki: What do you mean 'hella long'?! This one takes up half of the freaking chapter!

Erena: ... Is the A/N _always_ this crazy?

Honoka: Pretty much. It wasn't as fun as this when I appeared in Chapter 11, since only RaP's Nozomi-chan and this story's Kotori-chan appeared.

Erena: ...Your definition of 'fun' is terrifying. Well whatever, the author doesn't own anything. (I need to find a way to get back to my own universe...)

XXXXXX

"Good morning ma'am! Thank you for telling me about the Halloween parade, Maki-chan really enjoyed it!" Hanayo smiled warmly to a scarlet-haired woman lurking outside Muse Studios. The woman flinched, shocked that Hanayo was talking to her. Hanayo continued to smile, as though she didn't witness someone suspicious loitering outside her workplace. "Are you here to see Maki-chan?"

"... N-No, not really." The woman muttered, averting her amethyst eyes from Hanayo. Actually, Hanayo had already knew what the woman came to the building for. It was the same reason as her constant visits she made for the past few months, but she decided not to call the woman out immediately. After all, she was just like Maki, they had a sense of pride to maintain.

"Ah I see, then are you hear to see how Muse Studios work?"

"... I'm here to speak to you Koizumi-san." Hanayo was taken aback, she wasn't expecting the woman to be looking for _her_. She had almost no contact with the woman save for that one occasion when she was told that Maki would enjoy the Halloween parade. "Is now a bad time?"

"Actually, not at all Nishikino-san! Hanayo-chan here is completely free!" Nozomi appeared behind the two women, a bright smile on her face. "You can do whatever ya want ya know, we're actually ahead of schedule."

"W-We are?!" Hanayo asked, she remembered that just two months ago, her coworkers claimed that they were severely behind the schedule they agreed on. Why was her boss telling her that they were now ahead of schedule?

"Yep! Ever since we came back from Uchiura, we tripled the hours we usually clock in an' here we are!"

"O-Okay...?"

"Yup! So feel free to take Hanayo-chan away Nishikino-san!" Nozomi gave her permission, entering the building while humming a tune to a rock song from the late 90s. Hanayo blinked, she knew her boss was carefree but that was a new level even for her. Nishikino-san didn't say much regarding Nozomi's personality, but one look on her face and it was clear that she didn't had a high expectation of her.

"Since she has so kindly granted me some time with you, shall we move to somewhere more comfortable? I know of a place that's practically 24/7." Nishikino-san suggested, with Hanayo nodding to the suggestion. They soon arrived at a small cafe that was relatively near to the Nishikino hospital, which didn't settle well with Hanayo. Nishikino-san had noticed it, and asked if Hanayo was alright. "Are you alright Koizumi-san?"

"Y-Yes. What did you want to speak to me about?" Hanayo had a few questions of her own, such as why was she still trying to visit Maki when the latter clearly didn't want to have any dealings with her own mother.

"Nothing serious. I just wanted to know how Maki is doing." Nishikino-san replied casually, a gentle gaze on the hospital that faced the cafe. "My husband and I didn't expect Maki to survive so long without us, we had closed her off to society after all."

"She's doing fine, she's made a lot of friends." Hanayo replied, wondering if she was telling the truth. _'I'm not so sure if Maki-chan has many friends... but Eli-san and Nico-san should be more than enough?'_

"That's wonderful. We were afraid that she would be struggling among her peers ever since she worked at that animation company... so it's a relief to hear that she's doing so well."

"Have you ever thought of making amends with her?" Hanayo blurted out, regretting it a second later. Nishikino-san gave her a curious look, which soon melted into a regretful smile.

"Yes, yes I have Koizumi-san. In fact, we're trying to reach out to her by stopping her whenever she leaves the building. Unfortunately for us, she doesn't leave the building often and whenever she does, it seems to be during occasions when we're in an operation. We can see that she works very hard." Hanayo sweatdropped, she wasn't sure if she should inform Nishikino-san that the reason why Maki didn't leave the building often was because she lived there, but since Maki was placed in a good light she decided that it would be fine if she didn't say anything on the matter.

"Why don't you just contact her?"

"She blocked us after she ran away." Nishikino-san shook her head sadly, and Hanayo wondered just how much did Maki disliked her own family. "... I don't blame her, we were quite unreasonable with her request after all. We had to though, she's our only child and my husband is very insistent to not let others inherit the hospital..."

"Why not allow her to study music and medicine at that time? From what I know, Maki-chan just wanted to pursue her hobbies."

"She didn't want to become one... Besides even if she wanted to be one, we felt that it would be taxing on her if she had to juggle two different majors, so we decided to cut one off. Of course, we could have done so in a better way... but let's just say that Maki had lashed back in a way that was pretty extreme. She inherits her stubborn side from my husband."

"How extreme?" Hanayo asked, all she knew was that Maki ran away from her parents afterwards. It was interesting though, she got to know both sides of the conflict and from what she gathered, Nishikino-san didn't blame Maki for her current lifestyle.

"I hightailed out of their house by tying clothes together." Hanayo and Nishikino-san turned around, where Maki stood with a cross look on her face. "What are you doing with _her_?!"

"M-Maki-chan! What are you doing here?" Hanayo squeaked, shocked to see Maki here. Sparks started to fly between the two Nishikinos, which was actually just Maki glaring at her mother.

"Nozomi told me that you went off with her, so I followed. Damn it Hanayo, she's bad news. You best be staying away from that she-demon." Maki seethed, storming towards Hanayo and yanking her out of the chair. "Let's go."

"N-No Maki-chan." Hanayo replied, pulling herself out of Maki's grasp. "We haven't been dating for more than a day, but I know that you should sit down and iron things out with Nishikino-san. She's still your mother after all, don't you at least want to hear her side of the story?"

"... It's been seven years, some things should stay dead." Maki mumbled, turning on her heels as walking away from the cafe.

XXXXXX

"Ah damn it, it's starting to rain... Should have checked the forecast before running after Hanayo." Maki grumbled, staring at the cloudy sky. Rain was starting to pour, and what started as a light shower soon turned into a torrential downpour. It reminded her of the day she first met Eli and the rest of Toyawa Studios, except she was at one corner of some unknown alley, strumming some tunes with her only other possession, an acoustic guitar. "Heh, it's just like that time. They were still under Toyawa Studios then weren't they?"

 _"Why are you still playing under the rain miss? Shouldn't you be going home right about now?" A blonde-haired woman asked Maki, an umbrella sheltering her from the rain. Maki scowled, and continued playing her guitar, singing Somewhere In Brooklyn as though her life depended on it. The woman looked impressed, and stayed to listen Maki sing. Eventually, Maki stopped and glared at her. "You have such a pretty voice miss!"_

 _"If you wanna stay and listen, then fork up some cash." Maki replied, still glaring at the woman. Another woman approached them, notably shorter than them but for some reason Maki instantly knew that she was much older than she seemed. "Your daughter's here, scram already."_

 _"How rude! I'll have you know that I'm older than you!" The shorter woman fumed, looking as though she had a bone to pick with Maki. The blonde woman sighed, bowing in apology._

 _"Please forgive Nico. Anyways, you have such a good voice but you choose to ruin it by singing in the rain..."_

 _"So? I'm dead broke, why shouldn't I ruin my voice if it means getting by?!" Maki challenged, starting to pack up her guitar. It wasn't because she wanted to stop singing, she just wanted to get away from the two women. Both women had a sparkle in their eyes, and they grabbed one of Maki's arms each. "H-Hey! Let go!"_

 _"W-Wait a minute would you? We're actually part of an animation company, called Toyawa Studios. We think that you have talent, and would like you to join us! Okay, we're pretty much in the red but we guarantee you a constant source of income!" The blonde woman said, trying her best to win Maki over. Maki scoffed, yanking her arms out of their grasp._

 _"Are you kidding me?! You guys want to hire someone when you don't even earn enough to feed yourselves?! Who in the right mind will say yes?!" Maki exclaimed, shutting her guitar case. "Go to hell!"_

 _"Yeah, that's where our finances are going to at this moment." Nico commented, earning herself a slap from the blonde woman. "Ow! Eli!"_

 _"Okay, we understand. But if you ever need a job, you can always come and find us!" Eli said, fumbling through her bag and handing Maki a card that had the location and number of the company. "Please don't throw that away at least, we're serious about hiring you."_

 _"Yeah, and I'm serious about leaving this place!" Maki yelled back, but she kept the card in one of her jacket pockets in case she needed it for something like repairing stuff. She certainly didn't expect seeing it again another rainy day half a month later, where her parents managed to track her down to where she usually busked._

 _"Maki! Come back to us. You don't have to force yourself to do this." Maki's father said, with his wife behind him. Maki glared, yes she really didn't like sleeping on streets but she sure as hell didn't want to go back to a life where she had to do whatever her parents wanted to get something. "Look, we can forget what happened before. Just come back to us."_

 _"Yeah, and forget the reason why I ran away from you two? No thanks. I don't want to be a doctor, why can't you two understand that?! Every single thing that I asked, you always wanted me to pay it back. It was in the form of perfect grades, so I did that. What the hell did that leave me with?! You left me with no friends, a future I don't want and a hateful look towards life! You robbed me of my innocence! I just want to pursue music as a career, what's so wrong about that?!"_

 _"What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! Music doesn't bring you a comfortable life! You had that when you were younger, but remember that you had it because we're working as doctors! Medicine brings in the dough, music doesn't! End of story!"_

 _"... For someone who wants me to go back to you guys, you sure suck at convincing me." Maki spat, running away from them with her guitar case in tow. She continued to run, her legs taking her to an address that she had only seen once on a company card. She eventually reached a small building, with the lights from the building dimmer in contrast to the rest of the city. Maki gulped, she had never seen the building before, yet she could immediately tell that she had gotten the company right. "Is this place seriously still not doing well? I was expecting it to be better off compared to six months back..."_

 _"Hey, aren't you that busker girl from that alley?" Maki turned around, coming face to face with Nico. "Man, you sure look worse. Why don't you come in or something?"_

 _"Huh?! Why should I?! I'm only here because I decided to see whether you guys are as poor as I expected you guys to be!" Maki lied, not wanting to be pitied if she had told the truth. Nico wasn't buying it, and gripped Maki's collar as she proceeded to drag the busker into the building. "Are you deaf woman?! I'm not here to get a job!"_

 _"Yeah yeah, and I'm not freaking short. Just get in and dry yourself or something." Nico sighed, spotting a ginger-haired woman loitering about. "Honoka, go get this lady a towel or something. I don't want her to soak the lobby."_

 _"Here you go! Honoka Kosaka, at your service!" The ginger-haired woman introduced herself, handing a towel to Maki. "What brings you to Muse Studios? Oh, are you here to work as a VA for us? That would be so awesome!"_

 _"She's just here to take shelter from the rain. Honoka, entertain her will you? I have work to do..." Nico instructed, going off to wherever she needed to be. Maki was left with Honoka, who was beaming at her._

 _"... Why do you even want to work in a hell hole like this place?" Maki asked, aware that the company wasn't doing well. Honoka tilted her head, as though the answer was obvious. "Seriously, they have problems running this place. How much are you even paid for anyways?"_

 _"Mm... well it's true that Muse Studios isn't doing so hot... they're kind enough to give someone like me a job! You know, not many people are willing to hire gamblers. We run the risk of embezzling the company's finances. I lost my family's savings in a bid to win them back, so I really don't have a great track record." Honoka replied, a smile on her face. "Eli-chan's a kind person you know, even if she has some issues of her own."_

 _"Honoka-chan! Who's that with you?" A woman with ash-grey hair stepped out of a room, a tired look on her features. "Is she a new hire?"_

 _"Why do you guys think that I'm a new hire?!"_

 _"Ehehe, sorry. I'm Kotori Minami, I've recently started working here with Honoka-chan!" The woman said, extending a hand to Maki after she closed up the gap between them. Maki begrudgingly accepted the handshake, wondering why were they so friendly towards her. "What brings you to Muse Studios then?"_

 _"Seeking shelter from the rain after some chick named Nico dragged me in." Maki responded, drying her hair with the towel offered. "Why the hell did you join with your buddy here?"_

 _"Me? Well honestly, I just wanted to be away from my parents for a while. It's really painful to be around them... plus all their shouting gives me a headache." Kotori explained, sighing sadly._

 _"Soooo... abusive parents?"_

 _"What? No, you're mistaken! They're getting a divorce."_

 _"Oh." Maki wanted to ask her if that was all, because she didn't see what was so bad about parents divorcing. She decided not to, for even she found it impolite to be so insensitive especially to strangers. A third woman entered the lobby, with navy blue hair flowing till mid-back. Her amber eyes glanced at Maki, and Maki decided to stop the woman before she could say anything. "For the last time, I'm not a new hire!"_

 _"P-Point taken." The woman muttered, turning to face Kotori and Honoka. "Who is she?"_

 _"No idea, Nico-chan just brought her in." Honoka said, giving her a peace sign. The woman groaned, turning to Maki._

 _"Umi Sonoda, and who might you be?"_

 _"Maki Nishikino, staying until the rain lets up a little." Umi's eyes raised considerably upon the mention of the name, unsettling Maki. "W-What's your problem?"_

 _"Nishikino... You don't mean the runaway heiress Maki Nishikino do you?" Maki flinched, she was positive that she had never met Umi in her whole life. Was her family really that famous? "O-Oh, sorry. I'm from the Sonoda clan, and well... I'm like you really."_

 _"Uh... okay?" Maki wasn't sure how to react, apart from the basic knowledge that the Sonoda clan is a family well known for its martial arts and traditional dance... oh. "Wait, don't tell me you ran away from your parents too!"_

 _"Yeah. I wanted to pursue a literary career, but my parents said no. I did the most shameful thing by running away like a coward, and met Eli and Nozomi by chance. They gave me a job, and allowed me to fulfill part of my pursuit by writing the scripts for the animations we produce. It's fun, and though we have to watch our budget, it teaches us the lesson of being responsible for our actions." Umi explained, which made Maki to change her viewpoint towards the company, even if it's only a little._

 _"Oh miss! You're really here!" Eli said, entering the company with a byzantium-haired woman. Maki turned around, face to face with the woman who offered her a job. "Are you here to take shelter from the rain? You're welcome to dry off in Nozomi's office!"_

 _"Heya! I'm Nozomi Tojo, yer number one person for admin stuff and chock full of issues that I hate to face!" The woman gave her a peace sign, grinning at Maki's presence._

 _"I don't understand. How the hell are you guys so happy and carefree when you guys are running in the red?! You guys are pretty much bumming around, yet you guys are so damn happy and still survive in the cruel animation industry! What the heck do you guys have that allows you to live such a life?!" Maki asked, finally unable to hold back her questions for the ones who started the company. Eli and Nozomi looked at her with understanding, it wasn't unreasonable of her to lash out like that. "Why is it that we're both in the same boat, yet you guys are still so damn happy while I'm suffering at some seedy part of Tokyo?!"_

 _"We depend on each other, that's about the only difference I can think off the top of my head. I had Nico and Nozomi to depend on when we started out, and then Umi, Kotori and Honoka came along. Life was pretty hard, especially after Honoka embezzled our money. But we didn't give up, and we chose to forge on ahead. It doesn't matter if we screw up at one point, we have each other's backs and that's more important than making a point to parents."_

 _"And another difference Elichi failed to mention is that we're all screwed up in the head!" Nozomi added, her smile never leaving her face._

 _"... You know what? I don't really care anymore. I just want to survive. I just want to truly have the fun I never had for 18 years. I want the freedom to pursue something I like without feeling like I'm owing someone. Can this place really give me that?" Maki asked Eli, who nodded. "Then sign me up. If it means living my life as an individual, then I want to be a part of a company running in the red."_

 _"Actually, I've signed you up on the day we first met. I was real confident that we'll meet again, and looks like I'm right?" Eli chuckled nervously, holding up a piece of paper. "Of course, we need your particulars_ _considering that I wrote Tsundere Masochist instead... Speaking of which, what is your name?"_

"Heh, Eli employed me without even asking for my name first. Such a dork." Maki chuckled at her memory, looking up at the grey sky. "It's still raining hard... maybe I could afford to take shelter with them..."

XXXXXX

 _Ricericepana: [Nozomi-san, did you tell Maki-chan about her mother on purpose?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [who knows?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [why, did they fight?]_

 _Ricericepana: [It's the opposite! They're talking, and Maki-chan looks happy!]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Oh, do you guys have an umbrella? It's pouring outside!]_

 _Ricericepana: [Oh gosh, we don't!]_

 _Ricericepana: [I think we'll wait until the rain clears out! Going back in the rain is bad for our throat and as VAs, we should take care of it!]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Nico, are you reading this?]_

 _Niconiconii: [lolololololol]_

 _Niconiconii: [makichans gf is way better than her]_

 _Eli Ayase: [I know right?! Back when Maki was a spoilt brat, she didn't give two hoots about her voice!]_

 _Niconiconii: [ik! she was all like 'why shldnt i ruin my voice if it means gtting by'!]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Yeah!]_

 _Spiritualyan: [she rlly changed aft working with us yknow]_

 _Nyanyanya: [omg who gave me a shark plushie for my bd?! u guys know i hate fish!]_

 _Ricericepana: [Oh no, I forgot that it was your birthday today! Happy birthday Rin-chan!_ T^T _]_

 _Nyanyanya: [its ok, at least ur better than **someone** who gave me shark!]_

 _Honkersnbread: [oh tht was me, heehee~]_

 _Honkersnbread: [but its cute tho]_

 _Nyanyanya: [tru tht but still!]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Hanayo, where are you now? I can come and pick you and Maki up?]_

 _Ricericepana: [No need, we're at the cafe near Nishikino Hospital. Maki-chan is talking to her mother so I don't really want to disturb their time together.]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Umi-chan, maybe it's time for you to talk to your parents?]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [... Fine... One day I will.]_

 _Kirakira: [Did I just enter a group only to see it spammed up with nonsense?!]_

 _Erena Todo: [Hanayo, do get a cake for Rin. We forgot to get that as we're setting up Maki's room for the party.]_

 _Nyanyanya: [aw shucks u guys are the best]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Did you guys even ask for permission?!]_

 _Erena Todo: [To hell with that.]_

 _Niconiconii: [agreed!]_

 _Yukihime: [You guys have really come a long way. From some no name company to one everyone knows!]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [You guys mind? I'm trying to not screw up my family bonding time with my mom over here?]_

 _Niconiconii: [mute the grp then]_

 _Spiritualyan: [gd thing hanayo's her gf eh?]_

 _Eli Ayase: [I was right in hiring her early.]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [You wrote down 'Tsundere Masochist' in her application form! That's basically like hiring someone else!]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Look, I didn't know her name until that day!]_

 _Ricericepana: [Oh the rain's starting to lighten up! I'm going to get that cake, Rin-chan what flavour do you want?]_

 _Nyanyanya: [ehhh maybe oreo cheesecake?]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Yay i love you!]_

 _Niconiconii: [*gets angry*]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Omg you actually bothered to use asterisks?]_

 _Niconiconii: [look i hv trust issues so dun go saying tht to others k?]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Okay, sorry~]_

 _Yukihime: [Muse Studios is crazy in their own right alright...]_

 _Kirakira: [Seconded.]_

 _Erena Todo: [Agreed.]_

 _Nyanyanya: [omggg r u guys trying to piss me off on purpose?!]_

 _Nyanyanya: [why is my party filled with so many fish decos?]_

XXXXXX

"Hanayo, I just wanted to say thanks." Maki said, holding up two cups of orange juice. She was fairly sure that it was spiked, but it was the gesture that counted... right? "You helped me to mend my relationship with my mother, and while I would prefer if you didn't go behind my back... I suppose that's the only way for us to make up."

"You should probably thank Nozomi-san for that, she was the one who told you about her right?" Hanayo pointed to Nozomi, who was already drunk on the spiked juice. Maki shook her head and offered one of the cups to Hanayo, who declined. "Sorry, but I don't think I'm in the mood to get drunk now."

"No worries. Anyways, she told me that she and her husband encountered you quite a few times. She also told me that she told you about the Halloween parade yesterday."

"I'm busted aren't I? Why do you still address your father as 'her husband'?"

"... Well, I'm okay with my mother now but my father... I don't exactly want to meet him. He's... intense?" Maki averted her eyes away from Hanayo, biting her lip as the mere mention of her father. "Besides, he would probably break my relationship up with you. I don't want to meet him until I'm at least sure that he's okay with you."

"Speaking of relationships... is your mother okay with me dating you? I mean, I kind of outed us to her at the cafe..." Hanayo asked, taking one of the cups out of Maki's hand and clasping it. Maki blushed slightly, returning the grip. The party was still going on even as they talked as though the rest weren't there, with Nozomi going as far as to strip in front of Umi.

"She's cool with it. Heck, she wants you to join us the next time we meet up. Which by the way, it's not any time soon." Maki grinned bashfully, thrilled at the fact that the woman that she had been crushing on for months was finally hers. "Oh, and I unblocked my mother's number just now."

"That's great progress!" Hanayo was also blushing, she was on Maki's bed (futon) watching the party unfold in front of her with her girlfriend beside her. They weren't really talking about anything romantic, but it was the presence that counted. And right now, all Hanayo wanted was to lean on Maki's shoulder and celebrate her best friend's birthday in silence.

"Haha! Drink this next Umi-chan~" Nozomi cheered as she forced the scriptwriter to consume a large mug filled with beer. Tsubasa and Anju drunkenly cheered on, both of them were out of it due to them being lightweights. Kotori and Nico were playing on Maki's game console, with Maki's permission of course. Erena was at one corner chatting with Kanan over the phone, who was telling her of how they had plans to visit Tokyo and hoped that Muse Studios was willing to give them a tour. Eli on the other hand, was making a call to her younger sister, who was staying at the Kosaka residence for a few days as she had a few ballet performances scheduled for next month. Honoka and Rin were at the centre of the room, though none of them looked happy at what was going on.

"You know, Umi-chan said that you have a good view of wall breaking when we were in Uchiura nya. Rin didn't know what that meant at first, but after seeing the chapter today, Rin finally understood what she meant nya." Rin commented sulkily, upset that it was her birthday, yet most of her coworkers were off doing their own business. "Have you noticed that we didn't appear much? I mean, you appeared in Maki-chan's flashback and the chat group today but that was it. And I only appeared in the chat group despite being _my_ birthday nya?! Shouldn't I be the main focus of the chapter nya?!"

"I totally get what you mean. Eli-chan told me that I had little presence throughout the holiday when we at the Uchiura cafe, and I was confused because I was there throughout the whole trip? Then I went online and found out that Eli-chan was breaking the fourth wall! Like, she was actually telling me that I had little lines during that arc?! I mean, I get that this is MakiPana and all, but don't I get to have more lines as a veteran or something?!" Honoka agreed wholeheartedly, gulping down a cup of spiked juice. "And like, I think the two of us don't get much screen time throughout the whole story?!"

"Oh my god you're totally right nya! Rin gets why you're cut out, but why am I also cut out?! I'm like Kayo-chin's bestie! But noooo, I get one of the least lines! It's like, Nico-chan and Kotori-chan that gets to dominate this whole story nya!"

"Yeah! Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan too!"

"Good grief, what are you two talking about?" Maki asked, with Hanayo right beside her as they inquire about Honoka's and Rin's conversation. "Wall breaking? Seriously, how drunk are you two anyways?"

"Not wasted enough to forget that we're now privy to what lies behind the fourth wall." Honoka mumbled, picking up another cup of spiked juice. "Spiked juice? The alcohol is brought by Nico-chan."

"Nico-chan! Where the hell did you get so much money to buy alcohol?!" Maki yelled, twisting Nico's ear hard. Nico yelped in pain, prompting her to pause the game. "Aren't you like nico nico broke?!"

"Well yeah, but I figured it was time to get nico nico drunk!"

"Seriously?! We're not some frat boys from freaking USA!"

"Nico knows that!"

"Ahaha, some things never change do they?" Hanayo softly chuckled to herself. Honoka and Rin shrugged, starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. "Rin-chan?"

"Nya?" Rin blinked, grinning back at Hanayo. She was on her way to being drunk, but at least Hanayo was talking to her. "Need something Kayo-chin?"

"I-I just wanted to say thank you for lecturing me for nearly rejecting Muse Studios's acceptance letter last year. You told me that even though my idol would be working in the same company as me I shouldn't treat her differently, and that really gave me the push I needed. So thank you Rin-chan, you're really the best friend I could ever have!" Hanayo said, making Rin blush in embarrassment.

"I-I... wow Kayo-chin, that was nice of you nya. Even though that reasoning somehow doesn't make much sense, Rin's happy for you and Maki-chan by the way. You two are gonna be the best couple nya!"

"No way, there's still you and Umi-san! And many more to be honest!" Hanayo laughed, holding up a ramen keychain. "Here, I managed to get this for you. It's all I could get this year, considering that I nearly forgot today's your birthday. Happy birthday Rin-chan."

"You're the best Kayo-chin! Rin's so lucky to be your best friend nya!" Rin declared, crushing her best friend in a very tight bear hug. Honoka drunkenly pulled out her phone, and managed to snap a clear shot of the two of them. She decided that she could always send the picture tomorrow when they were all sober, but she decided to send it that instant as her way of giving Rin a birthday present.

"Heh, seems like Maki-chan still have some ways to go before she could be in the same spot as Rin-chan."

XXXXXX

Honoka: Wait, this isn't the last chapter right?

Maki: Uh, no? Like seriously, MakiPana is the end game here. Why would it end with RinPana?

Nozomi: Ehehe~ Maki-chan's rival appeared!

Erena: This is the second A/N, that means I get to escape later!

Nozomi: Ehhhh stay a bit longer Erena-chan!

Maki: I wonder if we're going to end soon though? But then again, MakiPana just appeared last chapter...

Honoka: Good point. Oh I know, maybe it'll end by saying that the company is shutting down for good?

Maki: That's a terrible idea. Even if that happens, what the hell is going to happen to us?!

Nozomi: Time skip to a few years later and we meet up at one of our cafe's and catch up?

Erena: That is a very disturbing end. But on the bright side, Maki will definitely be working as a doctor by then...

Honoka: Yeah!

Maki: Maybe we should just wait until the next chapter and form ideas then...

Nozomi: Or we can address reviews instead! We got some!

Honoka: Hey yeah! Let's do it!

 **AethuranKR:** They should honestly be lucky that the establishment hasn't kicked them out yet in my opinion. And I'm sure that there are many other Kotoris out there that deserve your praise, but thank you nonetheless.

Maki: ... Are we not pure enough?

Erena: Does it matter. I'm leaving for real. *Leaves*

Nozomi: Ehhhh... Well whatever! Happy birthday Rin-chan~


	15. Chapter 15

Rin: Nyahoo! It's Chapter 15!

Eli: And Enya's exams are totally over, even though it has been like this for almost three months.

Kotori: It still calls for a celebration! *Pulls party popper*

RinEliKoto: YEAH!

Anju: When you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around, do you ever really crash or make a sound?

Rin: ... Whaaaaat.

Kotori: Technically it depends on where you land... but yes, shouldn't you make a sound?

Eli: Yeah like a soft thud or a bone-sickening crack-

Rin: Stop it nya! Rin doesn't wanna hear about scary things!

Eli: Why the question though?

Anju: Just a random thought. Since some people don't believe what they didn't see, if you fell without anyone else, does it mean that they wouldn't believe that you fell?

Kotori: Um no, I think anyone would believe it.

Eli: This has the potential to go out of hand so I'm putting a stop to it. Anyways, the author doesn't own anything.

XXXXXX

"Kayo-chin~! Happy anniversary nya!" Rin grinned, practically skipping her way towards Hanayo who was on her way to record the last episode of the anime she was in. "Today marks one year since your first day at Muse Studios! Soooo to celebrate that, I've gotten you a sack of rice nya!"

"Rin-chan! That's so kind of you! I'll cook that sack of rice with love after my current supply runs out!" Hanayo teared up, touched that her best friend went out of her way to give her a present.

"Yeah! Umi-chan has something to give you! And so does Kotori-chan, and Nico-chan... basically all of us nya!"

"Really? I'm so thankful! I should give something back in return..."

"Nah, I think they're cool with you being super grateful nya."

"Are you sure? It wouldn't hurt to ask though..."

"Excuse me, have you forgotten about me?" Hanayo and Rin turned around to face Maki, who was glaring at them intensely. "I'm literally standing right here! What am I, chopped liver?!"

"No... you're mouldy tomatoes nya!" Rin joked, gasping for breath a second later as Maki instantly gripped her throat. "... C-Can't... breathe... Maki-chan..."

"Maki-chan! Don't strangle Rin-chan!" Hanayo hurriedly came to Rin's aid, with Maki sighing as she reluctantly released her grip. "Thanks Maki-chan."

"We should really get going though, it's the last episode to record. Also, Tsubasa's waiting." Maki curtly informed Rin, ushering Hanayo away from her best friend and towards the recording room. Rin pouted, but nonetheless sent Hanayo (and Maki) off with a cheery wave. Hanayo was grinning away, so much so that even Maki found it odd for Hanayo to be smiling so much. "This will sound rude, but why the heck are you smiling so much?"

"I'm so excited to be done with the last episode! Granted, I'll be sad since it means that I'll no longer be working with you... but it'll serve as a wonderful memory of my first year here!" Maki nodded, remembering her first recording experience with Umi and Eli while recording Soldier Game. "Oh, we're here! Let's do our best for the last episode Maki-chan!"

"Heh, yeah. Of course, I'll do my best to be recording alongside you next time." Maki replied, entering the recording room where Tsubasa was waiting for them. "Hey, sorry for the delay."

"Eh, I'm already used to it. It's Muse Studios after all, everything's screwed up." Tsubasa shrugged, playing with her phone as she waited for the two VAs to start recording. Maki nodded vigorously, while Hanayo offered an awkward bob of her head as while she didn't want to admit it, it was pretty much standard for something to go wrong at Muse Studios. They went into the recording booth, preparing to record their very last episode together for the year.

 _"Hana! Listen to me for a moment will you? That old hag just now... that was my mom. I'm not sure if this is a good time to say this, but there's a reason why I didn't tell you about her."_ Maki read out, quickly scanning through her script. She still had no idea why were the lines so familiar, but she was sure that Umi wasn't plagarising the lines from some other source apart from her own imagination. _"She's... she's a bully. She doesn't treat 'commoners' like you kindly."_

 _"T-That doesn't mean that you should lie about her identity! She's still your mother, you shouldn't stereotype her like that! By saying such unkind things about her, doesn't that make you the bully?!"_ Hanayo's eyes nervously darted to Maki for a split second and darted back to her script, she was startled by the similarities the script shared with Maki's relationship with her parents. _'T-This is just pure coincidence right?'_

 _"Stereotype?! How is slapping people for no reason considered saying unkind things?! It's a fact!"_

 _"Well maybe she's that way because she wanted to get your attention!"_

 _"What is she, five?! Bear in mind that we're from a yakuza clan, don't you think that she's too immature to be getting my attention with such methods?! And from her daughter nonetheless!"_

"Heyo~" Honoka greeted Tsubasa, carefully opening the door so as to not disturb the recording session. "Eli-chan just told me that the people we met in Uchiura will be visiting us around the Christmas period!"

"Uchiura...? Wait, Matsuura-san and the rest are coming down?! For Christmas?! Whose bright idea was it?! With them around, there'll be 21 of us!" Tsubasa seethed, clenching her fists tight as she did her very best to not explode at Honoka.

"Don't look at me or Eli-chan, it was your girlfriend who agreed to it."

"And by that extension, Nozomi must have agreed to it. Damn it." Tsubasa sighed, she was at times amazed by her boss's lack of foresight. "I swear, Murphy's Law is highly applicable here."

"Doesn't that mean that anything that can work will work?"

"No, that's Yhprum's Law. Murphy's Law is the opposite. Basically anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And something has gone wrong already."

"Which is?"

"The cake that we ordered for Hanayo's party later is out of stock." Tsubasa held up her phone, which consisted of the bad news on the group chat.

"Well we can always make one. Umi-chan is going out with Rin-chan and Erena-chan to get ingredients for the cake." Honoka said, holding up her phone for Tsubasa to view the chat.

"We only have mayonnaise in the fridge for some weird reason?" Tsubasa said, glancing briefly at a message indicating that the company fridge only had mayonnaise left.

"Teehee." Honoka scratched her cheek, earning herself a glare from Tsubasa after the latter scrolled down the chat. "... Okay maybe I should go do a food run now. Umi-chan would probably just get the cake ingredients and nothing else."

"Good idea. Be careful though, I just read the news and apparently there's some crazy promo nationwide on baking ingredients."

"Oh come on, isn't Black Friday over by now?!"

"Murphy's Law remember?"

"I hate this Murphy guy..." Honoka grumbled as she stormed towards the door and and turned the doorknob, only for her to not push the door open. She tried again, and when the door refused to open, it confirmed her worst fear. "Um, Tsubasa-chan? The door is locked."

"... What? Move aside." Tsubasa strode over to the door and true to Honoka's words, the door wouldn't budge. "... You've got to be kidding me... Honoka, contact the rest over chat."

"There's no cell reception. Strange, didn't we have it a second ago?" Honoka replied, furiously shaking her phone. Tsubasa facepalmed, this _wasn't_ how she wanted to explain Murphy's Law to Honoka. "Should we tell those two that we're locked in?"

"... Let them finish first. We can work something out as they record..."

XXXXXX

"Hmm... Tsubasa and Honoka aren't replying..." Eli muttered, scrolling through the chat conversation. It had been an hour since Honoka volunteered to go to the recording room to inform Tsubasa about the visit regarding their Uchiura friends, and ever since then she couldn't contact Honoka _or_ Tsubasa "Hey Nozomi, how bad was the recording room's reception again?"

"Fairly bad? Does it matter though?" Nozomi shrugged, nibbling away on a burger. "I've sent the editin' team to go buy ingredients for a cake. They should be back soon, so don't worry yer head off."

"Did you ask them to buy other stuff? We only have mayonnaise inside the fridge..."

"An' who's fault is that Elichi?"

"Okay look, I'm not the one who bought the mayonnaise. Honoka herself admitted that it was her." Eli defended, her cerulean eyes shifting to the flickering lights above them. The lights soon went out, which caused the room they were in to descend into darkness. "Damn it. Nozomi, where's the power box?"

"We have one? Don't look at me, I ain't the one who has a clue about this place." Nozomi shrugged, walking towards the light switch. She tried flicking it numerous times, but the lights failed to turn back on. "Elichi, go check if the other rooms are affected."

"Yeah, this room isn't working either." Eli said, going into the design room and trying to switch on the lights. "Nozomi, it's a blackout."

"Who else is in this building besides you an' me?"

"Tsubasa, Honoka, Maki and Hanayo. The rest all went out to prepare for Hanayo's party or to get materials for work." Eli replied, repeatedly hitting her phone on her palm. "The cell reception suddenly went off! Nozomi, what should we do?"

"Go out an' see whether the reception improves?" Nozomi suggested, heading for the entrance. Eli followed, and stopped when Nozomi stopped directly in front of the door. "Elichi, can I swear or somethin'?"

"Why? What's wrong?" Eli asked, starting to worry. Nozomi pressed her ID card on to the scanner, but the door failed to open. Eli realised what Nozomi was implying and tried to open the door with her own card, but also failed. "Oh no. We're locked in right?"

"... What are the chances of the other four knowin' how to get the lights back on?" Nozomi asked, calmly stepping away from the door and moving towards her own office. "Ya know what, let's just pour ourselves a shot of Russian-imported vodka an' hope that it'll clear our heads."

"Maybe we should do that _after_ we find Tsubasa and the rest. Come on, they should still be recording... I hope." Eli dragged Nozomi away from her office and towards the recording room, where they would later learn that Tsubasa and Honoka were locked in with Maki and Hanayo.

XXXXXX

"Tsubasa, what's going on? We heard kicking noises after the session." Maki asked, exiting the recording booth. Hanayo followed suit, both blissfully unaware of their predicament. Tsubasa was grunting as she tried her best to pull the door open, leaving Honoka to explain to the two VAs. "Honoka, what's Tsubasa doing?"

"Okay thing is, we're locked in. So we can't get out. And apparently there's a blackout, so we have that too." Honoka awkwardly laughed, only to wince as Tsubasa slammed herself against the door. "Tsubasa-chan, are you okay?"

"Just some broken bones, I think? Ow." Tsubasa groaned, throwing out a weak punch at the door. "More ow."

"Have you two tried calling the rest?" Maki asked, reaching for her phone that she placed in her cardigan only to realise that it wasn't there to begin with. "Shoot, I don't have my phone with me."

"There's no reception! W-What should we do?!" Hanayo started to panic upon seeing the indicator on her own phone. "O-Oh no! My phone's battery is only at 31 percent! How did that happen?! I'm positive that it was a full bar before we started the session!"

"Koizumi-san, there's no need to panic. I'm sure that we're not the only ones in this building, and once they notice that there's a blackout, they would definitely come and find us. So don't worry." Tsubasa tried to reassure Hanayo, but Maki simply made it worse by stating a simple detail.

"Tsubasa, you do realise that this building is already 15 years old when I came here to apply for a job right?" An awkward silence followed, before being broken by Hanayo's sobbing. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't meant to make you cry Hanayo!"

"Now that you mention it... Maki-chan has a point. She even called it a hell hole back then." Honoka chimed in, worsening their situation. Tsubasa sighed, all she wanted was to get out of the room and not deal with chaos for one day. Thankfully for her, Eli and Nozomi were outside of the recording room.

"Tsubasa?! Are you still in there?" Eli called out, ratting on the doorknob from the other side. "Strange... I can hear crying inside but..."

"Wait for a while longer before you write us off!" Maki snapped at Eli, who was taken aback but none of the four could see it. "Get us out of here, we're locked in!"

"Locked in?! How did you guys get locked in when this door doesn't even _have_ a lock?!" Eli replied, continuing to rattle the doorknob before stopping. "Nozomi, get the fire axe."

"We have one?" Both Nozomi and Maki asked at the exact same time, which didn't exactly reassure Hanayo. An audible sigh could be heard from Eli, which indicated that there was indeed such a tool within the building.

"Yes, we have one. It's probably near Maki's room. If you can't find it, go get the katana in the design room. I could probably slash down the door?"

"Wait, why is there even a katana in the design room?" Honoka asked, unable to form a reason why would a weapon exist in the building. Tsubasa and Maki had an idea, but decide to not tell Honoka or Hanayo about it. "Anyways, the door looks like it's made of metal..."

"I think you can slash open a metal door if Eli does it enough..." Maki mumbled, deciding to find a comfortable spot in the room and sleep. "Hey Eli! Why don't you just go out and call for help?"

"... Let's just say that we're locked in..." Eli hesitantly replied, with Nozomi running off to find the fire axe (or the katana) as evident from fading footsteps.

"Are you trying to tell us that we're locked inside a locked room that's locked _inside_ the building?! What kind of shitty luck do we have to deserve this?!" Tsubasa yelled, kicking the door open to reveal a surprised Eli. "Oh. Guess Nozomi's making a wasted trip."

"Elichi! I got the fire axe!" Nozomi ran back to the recording room, a fire axe in hand. "Oh, so we ain't needin' it anymore? I ran all the way to Maki-chan's room only to find out that ya ain't usin' this? Bummer."

"Well, we could use it to break a window open?" Hanayo suggested innocently, which surprised the others. They didn't once think that she would be the one to suggest such an idea, after all it was a crazy idea that didn't have a 100 percent success rate. "I-I think it might work?"

"I'm going to go with whatever. Besides, the breaker's outside." Tsubasa shrugged, going over to a nearby window. "Let's break this one. Should be big enough for us to go through."

"Who the hell places the breaker _outside_?!" Nozomi asked, handing the axe to Tsubasa. "That's like a real dumb idea if ya get my drift."

"Oh I don't know, who the hell _buys_ a building that has a breaker outside?!" Tsubasa rolled her eyes as she hit the glass with the axe, miraculously shattering it with a single hit. "Now, who's going out there to fix the damn breaker?"

XXXXXX

"Why do I always get the short straw whenever we resort to playing the 'not it' game..." Honoka complained as she made her way to a breaker outside of the building. Tsubasa was following behind her, rolling her eyes as Honoka's whining. "It's not fair!"

"For the record, the last time we played this, _you_ were the one who lost on purpose." Tsubasa reminded, with Honoka sighing reluctantly in defeat. Five of them were outside of the building, with two of them delegated to fixing the breaker, two others delegated to check on the entrance and the last one whose sole purpose was to inform the lucky person inside the building to check the lights once the breaker was fixed. "Also, Koizumi-san is not the one inside the building so it's not like she got lucky or anything."

"Well she's the one who gets to tell Nozomi-chan 'bout the breaker status! Nozomi-chan's the luckiest though, all she has to do is to wait for us to fix this stupid breaker!"

"Do you honestly think that she's going to be useful with the door? No offence, but she's pretty useless with almost everything."

"She pays you though?"

"Uh huh, I'm tempted to believe that Eli's the one doing the accounting. Hell, I think the only thing she does is to hide in her office and do some weird reading while getting drunk on her booze."

"Don't let her hear that Tsubasa-chan."

"Why are you two outside?" Honoka and Tsubasa turned to the source of the voice, and saw Umi and Erena standing beside them. "It's starting to freeze out here."

"Let's see... there's a blackout, we're supposed to be locked in and there's no cell reception. What do you think?" Tsubasa sarcastically asked her girlfriend, who shrugged in response. "Don't you dare shrug it off, I haven't said a damn thing about you allowing them to come over!"

"Who are you even referring to?" Umi asked, eyeing Erena suspiciously. "Please don't tell me that you did something stupider than ditching Rin at a ramen shop."

"You _ditched_ Rin. At a ramen shop. How... What the hell is wrong with today?!" Tsubasa groaned, stomping a foot onto the snowy ground. "I freaking hate you Murphy!"

"Who's this Murphy dude?" Nozomi whispered to Hanayo, both who were able to hear an angry Tsubasa getting angry at Murphy. "Like, we don't know him right?"

"I-I guess? Um, why am I getting messages that we only have mayonnaise in the fridge?" Hanayo asked, showing her phone to Nozomi. What she saw was all the messages she didn't receive because she was in the recording room with Maki.

 _Niconiconii: [omg wth eli]_

 _Eli Ayase: [What?! What did I do now?!]_

 _Niconiconii: [why the hell is there only mayo in the fridge?]_

 _Nyanyanya: [ewwww who bought tht?]_

 _Honkersnbread: [ooh tht was me, thot i put it on bread but it tastes yuckyyy]_

 _Honkersnbread: [shld hv stuck to cheese aft all]_

 _Niconiconii: [who puts cheese on bread...?]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Well now we have to go out and buy ingredients for Hanayo's cake.]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Um Umi, you do know that Hanayo's in this group right?]_

 _Yukihime: [I think we're past caring that!]_

 _Erena Todo: [So what now?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [editin team will go out n buy cake stuff]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Damn it.]_

 _Nyanyanya: [can i come along?]_

 _Erena Todo: [Might as well...]_

 _Honkersnbread: [i go tell tsubvasa n the rest abt this bai]_

 _Niconiconii: [wth so random]_

 _Minamibirdie: [I need to buy a new stylus, so i'm going out too!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Anyone needs anything from the art supply store?]_

 _Niconiconii: [ooh im coming along]_

 _Niconiconii: [so bored here]_

 _Yukihime: [Yeah, watching porn is boring... Remind me again why am I doing this?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [bcuz the next anime will hv lots of bikini scenes]_

 _Eli Ayase: [What happened to risking copyright infringement with that South Korean game company?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [eh we can do it at our own time]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Anyways, I'll be hanging around the building. What about you Nozomi?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [same maybe i shld look at the cards...]_

 _Spiritualyan: [bad news guys]_

 _Spiritualyan: [my cards r telling me tht its not a gd day for us]_

"Oh! That's when the reception started to die!" Nozomi grinned, flipping the switch in the room she was in. The lights flickered on, which relieved Hanayo. "Anyways, is everyone back?"

"Hm? Why is everyone gathered outside? It's cold!" Kotori asked, approaching those who were outside with a plastic bag containing her new stylus in hand. Nico and Anju followed behind her, each of them pulling up their own scarfs due to the cold temperature. Trailing further behind them was Rin, who was clearly unhappy with Erena for ditching her at a ramen shop.

"Why did you guys leave me at that ramen shop nyaaaaa?!" Yep, Rin was definitely unhappy. Umi had the decency to look sorry unlike Erena, who had one of those irritating smirks plastered on her face. "Like, at least take all your food with you!"

"You _left_ the ingredients for Koizumi-san's cake with someone that you ditched." Tsubasa made it sound like it was a fact instead of disbelief, which didn't do anything to make Erena feel the least bit guilty. "Don't you have any common sense?! How are we going to make the cake if you gave it to someone who's lost?!"

"I-I'm not lost nya!"

"You kinda were. We found her wandering around the streets like a lost kitty." Nico remarked, patting her coworker's head mockingly. "Poor lil' kitty~"

"Guys, bad news. The door's still not opening, and before any of you guys ask, yes my ID hasn't expired." Eli informed the rest, with Maki kicking on the door repeatedly. "Maki, stop kicking the door."

"Oh come on, why can't this heap of junk just freaking open?!" Maki groaned, delivering one last kick to the door. Miraculously, the door opened. "Call me the door opener."

"I'll call you the property kicker. Everyone, let's get inside before we catch a cold." Eli sighed, praying that the door wasn't damaged. Those that were outside immediately entered the building, staying away from the doors. "Nozomi, get away from the window. Last thing we need is to have you catching a cold."

"Anyways, since you bozos damaged part of the building... let's just all go into the dining room and warm up." Nico suggested, assisting Rin with the plastic bags. "Rin, give it here. I'll cook Hanayo's cake."

"You can cook a cake nya? I thought the term is to bake a cake."

"Cook, bake, same difference. Now just follow the rest and leave the cake to me."

XXXXXX

"The cell reception is gone again." Hanayo commented as she stared at her phone screen, with the battery percentage starting to increase as Umi had lent her a charger. "W-What should we do?"

"Ya know, usually when a group of people are down on their luck, it means that a supernatural force is waitin' to kill 'em yeah?" Nozomi started, soon getting herself whacked on the head by Eli. "Geez, it's just a joke..."

"You're scaring the lights out of Hanayo here." Eli replied, bowing in apology to Hanayo. "Forgive Nozomi for scaring you, even though she totally doesn't deserve your forgiveness."

"Hey! If anythin', ya were the one who scared the hell out of Hanayo-chan here. Remember the first day? She was so scared of ya!" Nozomi laughed, turning to face Hanayo. "Tell Elichi how intimidated ya got then!"

"I-I wouldn't say that she was extremely scary... Maybe just a little bit?" Hanayo was really trying to be diplomatic, but she could tell that she hurt her boss's feelings. "A-Ah! I'm so sorry Ayase-san!"

"I-It's fine... But... Hanayo, why do you still address us so formally? Minus Maki and Rin that is." It was a question that everyone had for Hanayo, it was already a year and yet Hanayo was still treating them so professionally. No one would ever admit it, but it really made them feel disappointed that Hanayo treated them like normal coworkers.

"W-Well... I-It's because I respect all of you as professionals! I... don't want to seem rude by addressing all of you in a casual manner so..." Before anyone could say anything, Nico arrived with a large plate on her hands. That plate contained a cheesecake, with rice grains all over it. If some of them could be honest with Nico, they would had declared that the cake looked downright disgusting. "Ah! The cake's here! It looks delicious!"

"Yeah, it looks absolutely yummy!" Kotori said, almost drooling over the cake. To be fair, at least it _looked_ edible. Whether it was truly meant for human consumption was something they could all figure out later.

"... I have _so_ many things I could say about that abomination right now." Maki muttered under her breath, closing her eyes as she couldn't bear to look at that 'abomination' for a second longer. Umi and A-RISE nodded silently in agreement, while the rest watched Rin approach Nico with a peeved expression. "Even Rin is sane for once."

"Why couldn't you make me a ramen cake on my birthday nya?!"

"I take that comment back." Maki scowled, shaking her head in disgust. Whether her disgust was directed at the cake or Rin's attitude towards the cake, it didn't really matter. All Maki wanted was to throw the cake out of the building and let it freeze overnight, which was impossible considering that both Hanayo and Kotori _wanted_ to eat the cake. "Rin's an idiot."

"Her idea sounds worse than the cake before us honestly." Umi admitted, not bothering to mince her words despite the fact that it was own girlfriend that wanted such a cake. A-RISE nodded in agreement, with Eli sighing in the background. "What's wrong Eli? Is there another problem with the building?"

"No, the problem is that you guys aren't accepting of the cake. Or Rin's wish to have a ramen cake." Maki and Umi rolled their eyes, while A-RISE moved away from them in order to get a drink from Nozomi (who was definitely serving the Russian-imported vodka she had offered Eli a few hours ago). "I know it sounds gross but at least keep negative comments to yourselves..."

"Sometimes, you need to rip off the plaster." If Eli had heard this from someone like Honoka, Nozomi or anyone apart from the one person who actually said it, Eli would consider that advice. However, since the quote came from Maki... Eli had a bad feeling that Maki was planning to tell Hanayo and Rin about her thoughts without a single drop of tact. What was worse was that Umi actually nodded along with Maki's quote.

"You too Umi?! Why is it that the one time you two actually agree on something, it's to gang up on me?!" Eli groaned, while she had always hoped that Maki and Umi would agree on something no matter how close they really were, she had never once wished that it was against her. "Seriously, I gave you two a job!"

"Now isn't the time to play your 'be more grateful' card. Though I must say that Nozomi was really the one who offered me my job..." Umi commented, exiting herself out of the conversation and joining Honoka and Kotori. "Do you two know what Nozomi is serving Hanayo right now?"

"Ehhh... probably some vodka. She loves vodka after all. Why do you ask Umi-chan?" Honoka replied, gulping down her own cup filled with alcohol in one shot. "Man, Nozomi-chan has some good vodka!"

"WHAT?!" Umi yelled as she made her way towards Hanayo, who was about to down her own share of vodka. "NO, DON'T DO IT HANAYO!"

"Huh?" Hanayo stopped herself as she watched Umi barrelling towards her... and falling face first to the floor. "Umi-san! Are you alright?"

"I-I... I'm good. Don't drink that though... Nozomi gave you vodka instead of something normal." Umi groaned, her nose starting to turn red from the fall. "That was a little painful... but seriously, don't drink that!"

"Ya know Umi-chan, Hanayo-chan here is already legal. Why the hell can't she drink my vodka?" Nozomi asked, peeved that Hanayo's cup of vodka may very well go to waste. She spotted Nico attempting to diffuse Maki's and Eli's argument and decided to join them. "Hey Nicocchi! How would ya like to become an alcoholic like me~?"

"Heck off Nozoboobs."

XXXXXX

"Okay now that we have officially brought out the cake, let's serve it!" Tsubasa declared, holding up a kitchen knife. "Let's cut up this bad boy!"

"Dude, I'm the one who brought the cake out." Nico shot back as though the minute detail was important. "And the cake's a girl!"

"It doesn't have a gender you idiots." Maki sighed, resisting the urge to grab the knife away from Tsubasa and simply just cut the damn cake herself. "It's a thing that so happens to be edible. Probably."

"Let 'em have their moment Maki-chan~" Nozomi patted Maki's head as though she was a dog, which Maki disliked. "Anyways, it's more of Hanayo-chan's call. This party is for her after all."

"What?! No it isn't! I baked the damn cake, so I should have a say in it!" Nico protested, lunging for Tsubasa. Tsubasa immediately dodged, hurriedly placing the knife down on the table. "Stay still!"

"God damn it, must Nico always start something? Here I thought she's only like this with Kotori." Eli muttered, going over to the table to pick up the knife so that she could start serving the cake to the rest of her friends. Surprisingly, neither Nico nor Tsubasa noticed that the cake was already being served out by Eli. "Okay, these two slices are for Nico and Tsubasa so _please_ don't touch them."

"Okay~ I'll be eating Nico-chan's slice then!" Kotori beamed as she made her way towards the two remaining slices. "What's hers is mine after all~"

"At least hide your intent to have an extra slice!" Eli exclaimed as she prevented Kotori from accessing the two slices. Kotori simply giggled and went to where Honoka and Umi were, which deeply unsettled Eli. When she turned around, the two slices that she had been protecting were gone. "Okay, who the hell took Nico's and Tsubasa's cake when I told you guys not to?!"

"What, we can't even take our own slices?" Tsubasa asked in mock shock as she took a bite out of her cake. "... The combination is weird yet strangely delicious..."

"The key is to cook the rice." Nico replied proudly, as though she had revealed a trade secret. Eli and Tsubasa glanced at each other, shaking their heads in unison afterwards. "Hey! What's with that reaction?!"

"So the next anime is about a girl getting a part-time job at the beach during the summer holidays and along the way she meets others working at the beach. All we need is the casting." Anju informed Hanayo, holding up some pictures of the beach in Uchiura. "Maybe going to Uchiura for work wasn't so bad after all."

"Basically all your efforts in ripping off that South Korean phone game has gone to waste?" Erena asked, rolling her eyes at the argument Nico had entered yet again. "Hey Anju, want to bail my girlfriend and your girlfriend's best friend out of an argument with your girlfriend's other best friend?"

"Are we even considered girlfriends? Shouldn't we be classified as lovers?" Anju asked innocently, with Nozomi smirking behind her. Erena rolled her eyes again, sometimes she wondered why was she working with her best friend in a questionable company. "I mean, we have sex more often than dates?"

"A-Anyway, may I ask what's going to happen to the designs you made based off the game?" Hanayo decided to changed the topics, a blush creeping on to her face upon the mere mention of sex. Apart from that, she was excited about the new anime even though she may not be participating in it. "Oh I'm so excited for the new anime!"

"Ooh those? Well I could incorporate some of the clothing designs into their everyday clothes. Though I have to consider the setting, beaches are pretty hot after all..." Anju shrugged, staring intently at Tsubasa. "Hmm... What should Tsu-chan wear at the beach... She's based after Vanderwaals after all..."

"Uh Anju, that's a physicist."

XXXXXX

"Alrighty, now that we're done with Hanayo-chan's party... it's time to start preparin' for Christmas!" Nozomi announced, a childish grin plastered on her face. "An' since we got guests from the seaside joinin' us for celebration, ya guys better hope ya not the one hostin'!"

"W-Wait a minute nya! Why can't we just host the Christmas party at Maki-chan's place nya?!" Rin asked, subtly trying to avoid the probability of her hosting this year's Christmas celebration. Several others nodded, including Nico, Umi, Hanayo and surprisingly Honoka. Everyone stared at Honoka, with the latter being perfectly aware of their thoughts.

"Okay look, just because I was excited about being last year's host doesn't mean that I'm gonna be pumped up to play hostess again 'kay?" Honoka pouted, she remembered how hard it was for her to handle 11 guests last year. No way in hell was she going to handle 20, not even at the thought of poor Hanayo desperately running around preparing for this year's party.

"Actually, we can hold it at my parents' place without any issue. They're going overseas, so the house can handle quite a few people." Maki spoke up, shuffling her feet as she offered her parents' house. Hanayo noticed, and offered Maki a warm smile which the latter frown heavily. _'I hope it doesn't mean that I have to face father...'_

"Oh right, Maki-chan's rich after all." Nico rolled her eyes, glaring at Maki for some reason. "Must be nice to sip wine while watching the snow fall..."

"What kind of a fantasy is _that_?! You're a nico nico idiot."

"At least I'm not a nico nico snob!"

"You wanna go you nico nico brat?!"

"I'll nico nico deck you!"

"Okay both of you, stop! What's with all the nico nicos anyway?!" Eli yelled, shooting both women a death glare that instantly silenced not just them, but everyone in the room. "Maki, if you could arrange that with your parents that would be great. When we have confirmed the location, we will need to split up jobs in order to make our guests feel welcome."

"That'll be easy~" Nozomi nodded, a Cheshire smile creeping on to her lips. "I'm the life of the party after all yeah?"

"No sex while we have guests Nozomi."

"Welp I take my comment back."

"Apart from Nozomi's crude suggestion, I think having some entertainment would be an excellent idea. How should we go about it though?" Umi sighed, rolling her eyes at Nozomi's frank reply. Well, not like they would be shocked to see Nozomi's hand in Anju's underwear anyways. "Also, will alcohol be included?"

"Okay, let's do this. Maki, pick three people to help you with fetching our guests and cleaning up the place. Umi, pick three for the food and drinks. And I'll take the leftov- I mean, remaining people, for the entertainment. Any objections?" Eli suggested, but from her tone, it sounded far more like an order to the rest. Erena raised her hand, surprising Eli slightly. "Yes Erena?"

"Why did you call us leftovers?" Erena bluntly asked, directing attention to their boss. Eli gulped, she was hoping that her slip-up went unheard but clearly it wasn't. All eyes were now on Eli, preventing her from deflecting the question.

"I-I uh... oh you guys get the damn idea! Maki, Umi, start choosing!" In the end, Eli chose to avoid answering. Erena smirked, she had just won against Eli Ayase and the feeling was incredible. She was basking in her victory when her shoulder was tapped by someone, that someone being Eli. "You're with me for entertainment. I'm going to ensure that you're thoroughly embarrassed in front of our guests."

That was the day that Erena learnt that she may had won the battle, but had lost the war badly.

XXXXXX

Rin: We're finally coming to an end nya! I'm so tired... How do the other us manage to survive?

Anju: There's a rumour that there's a machine that produces copies of us...

Kotori: Oh right, that one...

Rin: W-What are you guys talking about nya...?

Kotori: Well... because some of us write stories so bad... that their characters die in the process. So this machine keeps on making copies of us so that the characters can still appear when in fact the originals are already long dead.

Anju: That includes the Eli standing right before us... the original Eli.. the one that started out with us... is already de-

Rin: NYAAAAAAA!

Eli: You two! What the hell?! Don't you guys have better things to do than to scare the lights out of Rin?!

Kotori: Aw but Eli-chan, it's just a conspiracy theory! You know, like those Creepypasta stories?

Anju: Besides, we're just implying more of originals being taken over by understudies. Like what happened to Nozomi in Chapter 7's A/N.

Eli: Okay from now on, anything remotely disturbing or the topic of understudies is not allowed!

Kotori: Senpais not allowed?

Rin: Got it Kotori-senpai nya!

Kotori: Oh stop it you naughty kitty~

Anju: Hey I wanna be called senpai too!

RinKoto: ... Anju-baba?

Anju: HEY! I'm not an old hag!

Eli: You guys... gah! I'm starting to see why do we sometimes apologise to the readers for these nonsensical A/Ns...


	16. Chapter 16

So... this can be considered as a filler chapter? I don't know, it's been a long time since the A/N's _this_ quiet... Well, given that I failed my national exam and is now basically a ghost drifting through life, it's not that surprising that I'm facing writer's block. Yay me. Anyways, I don't own anything.

XXXXXX

"I can't believe you actually called them and asked whether we could celebrate Christmas with them." Kanan laughed breezily at Dia's comment, everything worked out in the end after all. "It was supposed to be a _dare_! Don't you know what dares are?!"

"Hey, the dare was for me to call them and ask if we could celebrate it with them. How was I supposed to know that Todo-san actually agreed to it?!" Kanan retorted, with Mari stepping in like some mediator. Except she wasn't, and even if she was, she would be a really sucky one. "Mari, what are you doing?"

"Imma steppin' in an' be one hella of a mediator!" Mari declared in some horribly faked accent, which didn't do much to lighten the situation. "Okay okay fine. So what if it started out as a joke anyways? They don't have to know about it."

"Actually, I just texted Nishikino-san about it. Apparently we're having the Christmas party at her parents' place." Riko replied, serving three plates of cheesecake (of which the recipe was perfected by Kotori a while back) with a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "You should have thought about the consequences of that dare Kanan-chan."

"I was about to tell her that it was just a dare, but Todo-san beat me to it!"

"Who the hell gave you that dare anyways?" Dia asked, staring intently at Mari. Mari noticed Dia's eyes on her, and immediately denied being the culprit. "Don't you dare tell me it wasn't you Mari-san!"

"I'm telling you the truth this time though?!"

"Mari-saaaaaaan..."

"Oh c'mon! Is telling the truth a crime now?! If so, then sue me!"

"There's no point suing you when your family's filthy rich!"

"Guys..." Riko sighed, she was just thankful that she wasn't a participant in yesterday's Truth or Dare game. Basically, everyone but her and Ruby participated in the game, and Kanan got the misfortune of being the one who started this whole mess. _'If my memory serves me right, Chika-chan was the last person to do something before Kanan-chan had to choose... that means...'_

"What in Satan's name is going on here?!" Yoshiko stumbled into Ruby's cafe with You following behind her, their hangovers were still there and weren't likely to ease up soon. "Why is Dia-san attempting to strangle Mari?"

"What?" Kanan and Riko immediately directed their attention at the mentioned duo, and true to Yoshiko's words, Dia was indeed attempting to strangle Mari. "Dia! Get your mitts off Mari right now!"

"Mitts?! You dare call my hands 'mitts'?! The nerve!" Dia protested, releasing Mari from her vice-like grip and changing her target to Kanan instead. "I'll show you what are real mitts you stupid orca!"

"Orca?!"

"Haha... Riko-chan, one lemonade please." You made her her way to Riko's side, the latter groaning at the sight before her. "They're pretty intense huh? Especially Dia-san."

"Where's Chika-chan?"

"Hm? Still sleeping, why do you ask?"

"According from last night's game, Chika-chan went before Kanan-chan. Therefore, Chika-chan was the one who came up with the dare to contact our acquaintances from Tokyo." You took a minute to digest that piece of information, and once she did, a worried look crossed her face. "... What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just that... when Dia-san finds out it was Chika-chan who gave Kanan-chan that dare-"

"Did you just say that Chika-san was the one who gave the dare?" You gulped, cursing herself for even uttering Chika's name when the conflict was still unfurling in Ruby's cafe. "CHIKA TAKAMI, YOU'LL PAY DEARLY FOR YOUR DARE!"

"... If Chika-chan asks, tell her that Riko-chan was the one who namedropped her into this conversation." You mumbled, her words not going unheard by Riko.

"I heard that!"

XXXXXX

"Okay, so we need to fetch those people over from Uchiura. How many cars do we need?" Maki asked the three people she chose for her assigned duty, with one of them growing bored of the conversation. "Nico-chan, I know you can't drive, but please pay attention."

"Are you serious?! Woman, I got my driving licence way before you turned legal!" Nico scowled, going as far as to flip Maki the finger.

"Legal as in legal enough to get a senior citizen card? Because yeah, if you mean that then yes I believe you." Maki replied, picking up a calendar on the table and started to count the days left before Christmas. "Hmm... we still have at least two weeks before Christmas hits. I wonder if Santa would come this time."

"You still believe in Santa?! Didn't I-" Nico asked in disbelief, unconcerned of the fearful faces from the other two. It was only after she realised Maki didn't say anything back did she start to worry. "Uh... I mean, you still believe that Santa can give out so many presents in one night?"

"What? Oh, sorry. I wasn't listening. What did you just say?" Maki cocked her head up, oblivious to Nico's comment. The two others shot a glare at Nico, threatening to make her life a living hell if she didn't retract her uncalled for observation.

"I... I said, whose car are we using?" Thankfully for Nico, she chose to heed the warnings and posed a different question instead. Maki thought for a moment, she didn't have a car and even if she were to believe that Nico _did_ have a licence, she certainly wouldn't have enough money to afford a car. That left the other two she chose for their duty, but she wasn't sure if they even owned a licence.

"Hanayo, Nozomi, do you guys have a licence?" Hanayo nodded her head, while Nozomi shook hers. "That's a surprise Nozomi, I was expecting the reverse to happen. I mean, no offence Hanayo."

"It's okay, I got mine in June."

"Hey yeah, we went for driving lessons together. Your exam was literally a day after mine! And I failed twice!" Nico asked, clearly shocked to know that her friend didn't possess a driving licence. Maki, on the other hand, was shocked for different reasons.

"You failed twice?!"

"Oh come on, just because I have a licence doesn't mean that I passed it on the first try!"

"I told you, you're too short to drive!"

"What?! No! I failed because I went over the speed limit and hit a dog!"

"Oh my god you hit someone?! How did you even get your licence?!"

"It's not 'someone', it's 'something'! And like I said, I took it three times!"

"Hey Hanayo-chan, don't tell Maki-chan this but what Nicocchi's describin' is actually how my tests went." Nozomi brought Hanayo to one side and whispered the truth in the latter's ear. "Nicocchi actually passed on the first try, but I think she just wants to make yer girlfriend feel better bout her disastrous drivin'."

"I was expecting you to be a safe driver though." Hanayo replied, surprised to know that Nico was a safe driver. After all, she _looked_ like someone who would drive recklessly.

"Apparently in an auto car, the pedal on the right ain't the brake. An' also, the instructor may simply let you do however ya please while practicin'. So yeah." Nozomi explained, a sheepish grin on her face. "I did pass on the third try... but it got revoked after I accidentally killed a serial murderer on the run."

"Did they send you to jail for manslaughter?"

"Huh? Nah, I was drinkin' then. Good thing I was though, if not more people would be on the headlines." Hanayo was speechless, not because of learning that her boss killed a serial killer but because she learnt that even while driving, Nozomi _still_ relied on alcohol to solve her problems. "I ain't a danger to society though. At least I know when I'm a danger on the road or not!"

"... Yeah, I'm not going to comment anymore."

XXXXXX

"Anju, they don't have any dietary concerns right?" Umi asked, pulling out a pen from a drawer so that she could list down what should they buy for the Christmas party. Anju shrugged, just because she worked with three out of the nine guests it didn't mean that she knew everything about them. "Go ask them then. I don't wish to send anyone to the hospital for allergies."

"I only have Matsuura-san's number though. But okay, I'll contact her and ask about it." Anju sighed, going to a corner of the room to make the call. As much as she didn't mind Kanan's presence, requesting to celebrate Christmas with eight others was pretty much overbearing even for her. She dialled Kanan, with the latter picking up after the third ring. "Hello, is this Matsuura-san?"

 _"Um... no, this is Sakurauchi. Ah, but this is indeed Kanan-chan's number though."_

"Sakurauchi... As in, Riko Sakurauchi-san?" Anju had to pause for a moment as she tried to recall Riko's name, all she knew about her was that she knew Maki.

 _"Yes, that's me. Would you like me to pass on a message to Kanan-chan?"_

"Actually... no, since you're on the phone, I was hoping that you could help me with something?"

 _"I'll do my best to assist you, what is it that you require assistance with?"_ Anju was surprised at how formal Riko was towards her, then again Maki was still pretty formal with them most of the time. She simply passed it off as them being two peas in a pod, given that they knew each other.

"Ah right, we were wondering if you and your friends have any dietary concerns. We were hoping to avoid serving food that might cause allergies, hence the call."

 _"Oh, if that's all, then no, none of us are allergic to any food. Although, Chika-chan would greatly appreciate it if you prepared some mikans on Christmas."_

"... Okay, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for helping Sakurauchi-san." Anju ended the call, and while it was a relief to hear that none of them had any dietary concerns, the fact that one of them liked mikans was a bit... problematic to say the least. "Umi-san, good news! None of them have any allergies to food!"

"That's a relief. Did your friend said if they have any preferences?"

"Uh yeah, about that... we might be pissing Maki-san off if we followed through with it." Anju scratched her cheek, it wasn't about how pricey mikans were, since they were pretty inexpensive to begin with. What they had to worry was their own dietary preferences... and Maki's was that she wouldn't tolerate anything with mikans.

"Oh. One of them wanted mikans?" Anju silently nodded, with Umi sighing in frsutration. "Technically, we're not obliged to get mikans right?"

"Well yeah, but they're kinda our guests after all. Wouldn't it be nice if we made them feel like they're at home?"

"Ironically, the hosts hates mikans." Umi laughed, it was rather funny at that point in time. Still... "Anju, call her again and ask how much does she like that fruit."

"Okay okay... Sheesh, where's Tsu-chan and Kotori-san anyways...?" Anju grumbled, the two mentioned women were nowhere to be found. She could only hope that they were doing something productive, but given that Tsubasa had nothing to do now, it was highly impossible. _'I wonder what's Matsuura-san doing now anyways?'_

 _"Hello?"_

"Oh, hello. Is this Matsuura-san?" Anju asked out of formality, she knew that the person over the phone wasn't Kanan to begin with. However, she also recognised that it wasn't Riko either. _'It's neither Matsuura-san nor Sakurauchi-san, I wonder if she'll be as helpful as Sakurauchi-san...'_

 _"No, this is Kurosawa speaking. How may I help you?"_

"Kurosawa-san? As in... Dia Kurosawa-san?"

 _"Oh, Yuki-san! Is this about the Christmas party?"_

"Ah yes, I heard from Sakurauchi-san that someone likes mikans. We would like to know how much she likes the fruit such that we can cater to the demand?" Anju was secretly relieved yet frightened that Dia was the one picking up Kanan's phone. "And uh, may I ask what's Matsuura-san doing?"

 _"For your first question, I'm assuming you're referring to Chika-san. Chika-san practically lives on mikans, hence it'll be best if you left her at a fruit store. There are two more who likes mikans, but they don't have an obessesion towards the fruit like what Chika-san has. As for your second question... well, Kanan-san is now having her turn at chewing Chika-san out for suggesting the dare."_

"Dare?"

 _"Ah yes, thanks to Riko-san, we have found out that Chika-san was the one who dared Kanan-san to call Todo-san with regards to celebrating Christmas in Tokyo. As the dare was made during a round of Truth or Dare, Kanan-san wasn't allowed to refuse Chika-san. We apologise for inconveniencing all of you, and if you wish to cancel the party, that would be understandable."_

"Oh... um... wow. That's... really a surprise. Erena-chan took it literally, and since we have the go ahead from Non-tan, I think they've accepted the fact that this year's party would have more people than the usual 12. So yeah, the party will be held with the nine of you celebrating with us." Anju certainly didn't expect for Kanan's request to be a dare, and if Eli were to hear this, she would probably be hopping mad at Chika.

 _"In that case, we would like to thank all of you for being so magnanimous to invite us to celebrate Christmas in Tokyo. We're looking forward to hear from you then, and once again we would like to apologise for Chika-san's as well as Kanan-san's actions. With that, have a nice day."_ The call ended, with Dia once again apologising for the trouble they were now facing. It was probably a good thing though, half of them were free as birds while the half were still busy with their jobs.

"Umi-san, it's okay to leave Takami-san at a fruit store!"

"Seriously? She likes mikans that much?!" Needless to say, Umi was just as surprised as Anju. This meant that they either have to purchase that many mikans... or they abandon her at a fruit store which most likely wouldn't be open on Christmas. "Anything else?"

"Well, there are two others who like mikans, but not as bad as Takami-san."

"Hmm... well, I guess we could buy some refreshments with mikans in them. Call Kotori and tell her to get that, she's outside if I'm not wrong."

"And Tsu-chan?"

"Tsubasa? No idea, go call her or something."

"... You know, I'm not your gofer right? Calling people when you're pretty free yourself..."

XXXXXX

"You know, I still don't understand why are we stuck with you." Honoka commented, pouting at the fact that she was forced to help Eli with the entertainment for the upcoming Christmas party. "Like, why us?"

"Because you two are a joke." Erena replied, earning herself a kick to the shin from Honoka. "Ow?!"

"That's really mean of you Erena-chan! We're not jokes!"

"Yeah, but your life's a joke nya." Rin added, awkwardly laughing when Honoka turned to face Rin in disbelief. "Hehe. Dramatic drum cymbal sound?"

"Oh come on! Eli-chan's life is also a joke!"

"Yeah uh, that's actually plain sad if you're asking me."

"Erena-chan, what makes you think that my life isn't sad to begin with?!"

"You're a gambler, you brought it on yourself."

"Oh Honoka-chan! What if you gambled at some illegal casino, and you win it all? It's like those movies where one guy gambles for the sake of his freedom and then stakes are raised to the international level nya?" Both Honoka and Erena stared at Rin in horror, unable to process that Rin, an innocent woman among them, suggested for Honoka to gamble again. "It's like that manga! I think it's something Kaiji nya?"

"You three, can we focus? We need to come up with entertainment that's sure to entertain our guests! Also, it's bad taste to tell them how messed up our lives are." Eli sighed, she took Erena as she dissed her previously but Honoka and Rin... she was surprised that Umi refused to take in Honoka and Rin into her group. "I wonder why aren't you two with Umi..."

"Maybe because Umi-san recognises them as burdens."

"Erena, please. Stop suggesting that they're incompetent." Eli wondered what was wrong with her group, granted Honoka had her issues and she wasn't completely innocent, but Rin should be fine... right?

"I mean, this is basically called the joke group among us, so every single one of us are jokes in our own way." Eli paused for a brief moment, pulling out her phone in order to access the group chat all 12 of them shared.

 _Eli Ayase: [Hey guys, can I ask you all a question?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [yea what is it?]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Erena just told me that you guys have been calling my group the 'joke group', and I'm wondering if that's true?]_

 _Eli Ayase: [I mean, that's totally not true but I just want to prove to her that she's lying.]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Um, well about that...]_

 _Niconiconii: [its tru]_

 _Niconiconii: [like how do u not know abt this until today?]_

 _Eli Ayase: [Are you serious Nico?!]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [To be fair, Nico-chan was the one who came up with the name.]_

 _Kirakira: [I mean, it kinda stuck.]_

 _Yukihime: [Especially you, you have issues to the point that it's a joke.]_

 _Eli Ayase: [ME?!]_

 _Kirakira: [I mean, you have some issues with Nozomi-san and Kotori-san was being all shady with your legs!]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Don't name drop me into this tsubasa-chan_ ^^ _]_

 _Niconiconii: [ooh dun go there indeed]_

 _Ricericepana: [Wait, why do we call them the joke group?]_

 _Ricericepana: [I mean, entertainment doesn't just mean jokes right?]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Hanayo, Nico-chan didn't mean it like that.]_

 _Spiritualyan: [yea, shes throwing shade at them]_

 _Niconiconii: [oh cmon its funny]_

 _Niconiconii: [n besides u did mention tht ur life is a joke]_

 _Eli Ayase: [What the hell Nico, that was private!]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [How is it coming along though? I've gotten Kotori to get what we need.]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Do you guys know that Nico-chan has a licence?]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [Wait, seriously? I'm under the impression that she's just as reckless as you are...]_

 _Niconiconii: [wth dun compare me with makichan]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Yeah and I'm not reckless.]_

 _Spiritualyan: [obliviousness at its finest]_

 _Kirakira: [_ ^ _]_

 _Yukihime: [Fun fact, did you guys know that we're running around for this party is due to a dare by Takami-san?]_

 _Spiritualyan: [ohhhhh shyt u kidding?]_

 _Umi Sonoda: [How come I only know about this now?! Anju Yuki, explain yourself!]_

 _Erena Todo: [Wow, they made a joke out of all of us.]_

 _Yukihime: [I told them that we're still going ahead with the plans though.]_

 _Yukihime: [Since like, we always have a Christmas party every year.]_

 _Minamibirdie: [Oh that's true!]_

 _Tsunderequeen: [Wow, I can't believe my parents' house are gonna get trashed because of a stupid dare.]_

"Welp, looks like Erena's right for once. Now all we have to do is to make jokes at her expense..." Eli commented, a sly grin spreading across her face. Erene resented the idea, and decided to make her stand known to all whether it was worth it or not.

"Why me?!"

XXXXXX

"Woah woah woah. You guys are telling me that I got myself chewed out for telling Kanan-chan to call Ayase-san and the rest to have a Christmas party over at their place?!" Chika asked, rubbing her slapped cheek. For the past few hours, she was running for her life as Kanan and Dia were chasing after her as though their lives depended on it. Dia nodded, because of Chika she had to apologise to Anju. Thankfully Anju wasn't mad at Chika. "Seriously?! It was just a dare!"

"A dare that made Muse Studios busy with the Christmas party!" Kanan replied, she couldn't believe that she felt guilty for something that she wasn't the cause of. Well, just because she made the call didn't mean that she was actually guilty because she was only acting on a dare right? "Seriously Chika, think before you say something!"

"Well, _you're_ the one who chose dare!"

"I would have never chosen dare if I knew you would suggest calling them!"

"Yeah but you still did it anyways!"

"ENOUGH!" Dia yelled over the bickering duo, irritated at their attempts to blame each other. "Both of you are at fault, so stop acting childish and start owning up to your irresponsible actions!"

"Yeah but-" Kanan tried to defend herself, but was once again silenced by Dia. _'No fair, we're not allowed to refuse a dare...'_

"Stop it Kanan-san. Accept that both of you were at fault and we may move on from this issue."

"Hey you know, I'm not saying that we're not at fault... but I wasn't the one who came up the idea of calling Kanan-chan's pals from Tokyo." Chika started, twiddling her thumbs nervously. Dia rose to the bait as what Chika had expected, thought it was probably far from a bait if she was offering the truth from her perspective.

"Then, pray tell, who was it who came up with the idea then?"

"... Promise you won't get mad?"

"Tell it to me right now or so help me-"

"Okay okay! It was Ruby-chan! She made an offhand comment about how nice it would be if we celebrated it with Muse Studios! Cause, you know, she and I are big fans of their anime. And I was like, hey that's a a great idea for a dare and maybe if things go well, we could celebrate Christmas with them?"

"Well, we did plan to visit Tokyo some time soon... and Todo-san agreed to give us a tour of their place on the day of Hoshizora-san's birthday..." Kanan added, trying to calm Dia down. She wasn't sure if her current fury was because her own sister suggested the idea, or because they were going to Tokyo one day when they all knew that Dia disliked the idea.

"Chika-san, how dare you slander my sister's name!" Well, seemed that Dia wasn't going to believe Chika's words which sent Chika in a panic as she sprinted away from the one woman who was out for her blood.

 _'Oh my mikans, I told the truth! Why doesn't she believe me?! Someone save me from her!'_

XXXXXX

Okay so, reviews. Since I'm the one doing it in a while, I'll be addressing the reviews.

 **AethuranKR:** Oh, I didn't expect anyone to get the reference. And well, Nozomi's always a pervert, just that lately she's not making any perverted comments. I'm not sure what do you mean by 'the last line was legendary', but thanks for the compliment.

So... I'm done. Huh, it feels lacklustre without the characters. Maybe because I'm boring. Anyways, thanks for reading.


End file.
